Nigeria has also been designated the West African hub for the organisations research and development work in the West African region.
The National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRID) is the Nigerian organisation specially recognised to act as the centre of excellence and the West African hub.
The ANDI centres of excellence are spread across the five sub-regions of Africa and are responsible for conducting research and development and innovation on drugs, diagnostics, vaccines, medical devices and traditional medicines. They will implement ANDI projects and capacity building on the continent.
The Director-General of NIPRID, Prof. Karniyus Gamaniel, who spoke when the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) inducted him into its hall of fame in Abuja yesterday, stressed that as centres of excellence in health innovation in Africa and a West African hub, all the medical researchers in the region would draw inspiration from his organisation.
Phytomedicines, simply defined, are a special category of plant drugs. One of the criticisms traditionally levelled against natural medicines is the lack of standard levels of biological materials from the natural plants.
He said: Achieving these goals will require closer collaboration among research institutions in order to leverage existing capacity to support product development while at the same time building new capacity in Africa. It will also involve identifying, funding and managing a portfolio of projects across Africa, more work in developing infrastructure and broader South-South and North-South collaboration.
According to him, ANDIs mission includes the promotion and sustenance of African-led health product innovation to address African public health needs through efficient use of local knowledge, assembly of research networks, and building of capacity to support economic development.
This includes creating a sustainable platform for research and development innovation in Africa to address Africas own health needs.
On what NIPRID is doing to promote the quality of drugs into the country, he stressed that the organisation had stepped up its role to give quality assurance so as to ensure that products, especially HIV and malaria drugs, coming in are good.
He said: We assess their quality, whether it is good or not. Apart from what NAFDAC is doing, we do scientific checks. We are the gatekeepers to ensure that substandard products dont come in, but if they come in, they are detected and action taken immediately. Ours is research.
He spoke of how his organisation had reduced spurious claims by traditional medicine practitioners by verifying claims they make for the treatment of various diseases, while also collaborating with them towards the development of traditional medicine in the country.