Nigerian scientists and their counterparts from the United States Centre for Disease Control, CDC, have called for adequate funding of innovative medical research with a view to ensuring national development and effective response to disease outbreaks. The scientists, who spoke at the 4th International Scientific Conference of the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research, NIMR, in Lagos, maintained that research was the greatest engine for human development. In his submission at the Conference with the theme: “Funding Health Research: In A Depressed Economy”, a Professor of Translational Medicine, St. Mary’s Hospital Campus, Imperial College, London, United Kingdom, Professor Simon Taylor–Robinson, encouraged Nigeria and other countries to at least devote 1 percent of its GDP to medical research as it would improve healthcare delivery, save lives and reduce mortality. Taylor –Robinson noted that medical research was key and crucial in the healthcare, hence, the need for individuals, and local governments to also encourage research. On his part, Director- General of NIMR, Prof. Babatunde Salako, who noted that research was critical in public health as well as every other aspect of medicine, said biomedical research alone was capable of unravelling life mysteries and translating discovery to sound health and economic prosperity. He said medical research in developed countries like the US had generated effective drugs for lowering cholesterol, controlling blood pressure, and dissolving artery-clogging blood clots, as well as new techniques for heart attack prevention, including helping people to make lifestyle changes that promote cardiovascular health.
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