JICA supports Noguchi Research Institute
The Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has offered a grant of $20 million to the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR) of the University of Ghana for the construction of an advanced research centre.
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The centre is intended to strengthen the capacity of the institute to make it more efficient in the detection and surveillance of infectious diseases.
The centre is expected to be completed in August 2018. Work on it would begin early next year.
Visit
The Director of the NMIMR, Professor Kwadwo Koram, announced this at a ceremony to welcome a five-member delegation from the Tokyo Medical and Dental University (TMDU) to the Institute in Accra yesterday.
The delegation was led by the President of the Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Mr Yasuyuki Yoshizawa. The visit is aimed at strengthening collaboration between the institute and the TMDU.
Earlier, the University of Ghana signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the TMDU for academic exchange programmes between the two institutions.
Significance
According to Prof. Koram, the NMIMR has not seen any major expansion works since its establishment in 1979. He, therefore, indicated that the construction of the new centre would facilitate effective research works at the institute.
The director also described ongoing works on a teaching hospital for the University of Ghana as timely since its completion would also complement the research work by the institute.
With no research funds from the government, Prof. Koram said the institute had over the years relied on organisations such as JICA for financial assistance to undertake its projects and research.
Some of the support includes the provision of the Bio-safety Level 3 Laboratory and solar powered systems, as well as the training of the institute’s scientists.
Other areas of collaboration are diarrhoeal diseases, drug resistance studies and molecular epidemiology of dengue chingunga viruses in Ghana.
Prof. Koram expressed deep appreciation to JICA for its assistance over the years.
Long term research needed
The Vice Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Prof. Ebenezer O. Owusu, said despite efforts to curb the emergence and re-emergence of infectious diseases in sub-Sahara Africa, the situation was becoming increasingly burdensome.
This has been compounded by the emergence of drug-resistant pathogens to available drugs.
Under the circumstances, Prof. Owusu said, steady and long-term research programmes, including surveillance, control and development of new tools for diagnosis and treatment of infectious diseases, were needed to address the issues.
He, therefore, said “the research facility would be a good foundation for effective medical research and education.”
The Japanese Ambassador to Ghana, Mr Kaoru Yoshimura, described the relationship between NMIMR and JICA as beneficial to both Ghana and Japan.
