UDUS SEEKS STRONGER LINK BETWEEN RESEARCH AND PUBLIC POLICY

Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto has called for stronger collaboration between researchers, policymakers and communities to ensure scientific findings are translated into practical solutions for health and environmental challenges.

The university’s Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Bashiru Garba, made the call at the opening of the CAMRET–OHI Joint International Conference organised by the Centre for Advanced Medical Research and Training and the One Health Institute in Sokoto.

Garba said challenges including infectious diseases, antimicrobial resistance, climate change, environmental degradation, food and water insecurity and biodiversity loss were interconnected and required coordinated responses.

He said universities had a responsibility beyond generating academic knowledge, stressing the need to translate research findings into policies, innovations and interventions that could benefit communities.

Garba highlighted research activities by CAMRET, including work on vaccine candidates for Lassa fever and COVID-19, as well as the establishment of a COVID-19 screening centre during the 2020 pandemic.

He also noted that the university’s One Health Institute had introduced a Master of One Health programme and established the African Journal of One Health to support research and knowledge exchange.

Prof. Musa Kana of Kaduna State University identified inadequate funding and fragmented governance as major challenges to implementing One Health initiatives.

He called for dedicated funding and legislation to institutionalise responsibilities across relevant sectors, as well as digital platforms for monitoring zoonotic diseases and antimicrobial resistance.

The conference brought together researchers, academics, health professionals and other stakeholders from Nigeria, Africa and beyond.