Nigeria Is Committed to Funding of Local Research for New Drugs Development, Vaccines and Disease Epidemiology- Salako
The government of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will continue to encourage and fund local research for new drugs development, vaccines and disease epidemiology. This was stated by Dr. Iziaq Adekunle Salako, the Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare at the 2026 face to face meeting and training workshop organised by the National Health Research Ethics Committee (NHREC). The event was held on Tuesday, January 20, 2026 at Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja. Salako said Government is aware that this commitment can only deliver optimal benefit to Nigerians and contribute to the global agenda of good health and wellbeing for all in environment of ethical research conduct that protect participants, ensure data integrity, build public trust, and uphold the credibility of science.
National Health Research Ethics Committee was established in 2005 and its formal enablement was 9 years later by the National Health Act 2014. The national health act empowers NHREC to oversee ethical approval, provide guidelines for ethical conduct in research especially when human subjects are involved and monitor health research in order to protect the rights, safety and wellbeing of participants.
The Minister said since the inauguration of the new NHREC under the chairmanship of Professor Richard Adegbola, the committee has been working very hard to raise the bar for ethical health research by overseeing and ensuring timely approval of health research proposals in Nigeria.
“On behalf of the Federal Government of Nigeria and the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, let me use this opportunity to appreciate the Chairman and all members of NHREC for the commitment that you have brought to bear to deliver on this assignment. Your expertise and dedication in the last 2 years, no doubt, is bringing progress, order, and credibility to the ecosystem of health research in the country. Congratulations, and thank you all for your service to Nigeria.
“Let me use this opportunity to recognise and appreciate our partners especially the Gate Foundation, US-CDC WHO/African Vaccine Regulatory Forum ( AVAREF) the Multi-Regional Clinical Trials (MRCT) Centre and the GARNET patners for the support to strengthen NHREC functions and ensure that Nigeria create a health research ecosystem that meets international standards”, Salako noted.
He said the ongoing Trial Regulation and Clinical Ethics Optimization (TRACE) project designed to improve the integrity, safety and rigour of clinical trials in Nigeria and other participating countries is a welcome development that Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare will build upon to create a sustainable ethical environment for health research in Nigeria.
“We recognise the compelling need for domestic ownership of our research agenda and the responsibility of government to create a conducive and ethical environment. The Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare will therefore continues to place priority attention and provide all necessary support to NHREC to deliver on its mandate. Let me also commend NHREC for the digital enablement of ethics review process through the revamping of NHREC website and the creation of an e-portal. This is a major milestone that will enhance data gathering, efficiency, cost effectiveness, flexibility, stakeholders engagement and ensure better tracking of performance management”, the Minister added.
He called on researchers, institutions, sub-national health research committees and international partners to take full advantage of the e-portal in order to improve the integrity of health research, safeguard the rights and guarantee the welfare of research participants in the country. He enjoined NHREC members to redouble their efforts and accelerate the movement towards a fully ethically compliant health research environment in Nigeria so that they contribute their quota to the achievement of the health vision of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as contained in the Renewed Hope Agenda.
