{"id":72060,"date":"2025-08-05T08:08:38","date_gmt":"2025-08-05T08:08:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/?p=72060"},"modified":"2025-08-05T08:08:38","modified_gmt":"2025-08-05T08:08:38","slug":"uniabuja-global-partners-secure-5m-grant-for-sickle-cell-research","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/2025\/08\/05\/uniabuja-global-partners-secure-5m-grant-for-sickle-cell-research\/","title":{"rendered":"UniAbuja, Global Partners Secure \u00a35m Grant for Sickle Cell Research"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Samuel Adeola<\/strong><\/p>\n

The University of Abuja (UniAbuja), in collaboration with international partners, has secured over \u00a35 million to advance sickle cell disease research across sub-Saharan Africa.<\/p>\n

Professor Obiageli Nnodu, Director of the Centre of Excellence for Sickle Cell Research and Training (NCESTRA), made the disclosure during a Patient-Centred Sickle Cell Disease Management (PACTS), workshop held at the university.<\/p>\n

The workshop, themed \u201cStrengthening Institutional Research Capacity and Safeguarding,\u201d was organised by NCESTRA in partnership with the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM) under the PACTS initiative.<\/p>\n

According to Prof. Nnodu, the project aims to enhance the capacity of African institutions to carry out high-quality, impactful research.<\/p>\n

\u201cResearch is a vital tool for national development, not only in securing grants, but also in managing and implementing projects that translate findings into policies and societal benefits,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

She explained that the multi-country initiative includes partners from Ghana, Zambia, the United States, and the United Kingdom.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re collaborating with institutions such as the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Kwame Nkrumah University of Health and Allied Sciences in Ghana, and the University Teaching Hospital in Zambia. The total grant is over \u00a35 million,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

Representing the Acting Vice Chancellor, Prof. Patricia Lar, her Senior Special Assistant on Academic Matters, Prof. Rhoda Mundi, described the programme as a reflection of the university\u2019s dedication to tackling sickle cell disease.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis workshop marks a pivotal moment in our joint efforts to advance research excellence, especially in addressing the burden of sickle cell disease; a major public health challenge in Nigeria and across sub-Saharan Africa,\u201d Mundi stated.<\/p>\n

Prof. Hilary Bates, Co-Principal Investigator on the PACTS project, highlighted some of the challenges uncovered through early research.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany affected families struggle to afford nutritious food or adopt lifestyle changes that would improve the health of sickle cell patients,\u201d she noted.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve found that some patients initially turn to herbal remedies instead of seeking hospital care, which can lead to delayed treatment and prolonged illness.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bates further revealed that high treatment costs, long travel distances, and delays at health facilities often disrupt patients\u2019 education and work, but the team is working on practical solutions to address these issues.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Samuel Adeola The University of Abuja (UniAbuja), in collaboration with international partners, has secured over \u00a35 million to advance sickle cell disease research across sub-Saharan Africa. Professor Obiageli Nnodu, Director of the Centre of Excellence for Sickle Cell Research and Training (NCESTRA), made the disclosure during a Patient-Centred Sickle Cell Disease Management (PACTS), workshop […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32,"featured_media":72061,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[177,183,172],"tags":[59],"class_list":["post-72060","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-abuja-reports","category-education","category-news","tag-featured"],"aioseo_notices":[],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72060","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/32"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=72060"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72060\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":72062,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72060\/revisions\/72062"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/72061"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=72060"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=72060"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=72060"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}