The delegates from Northwest University Kano visited George Mason University from October 9 – 18, 2014. The delegates are Mal. Sule Yahaya Hamma, Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of NWU council; Prof. M. Razali Agus, VC NWU; Mrs. Maria Ali Kote, Council member; and Prof. Hafiz Abubakar Council member. The visit of the NWU team was a follow-up to the visit of Governor Kwankwaso and his entourage in March 2014, where Kwankwaso met the GMU Provost to discuss academic collaboration with the Northwest University (NWU).
As a background, in 1996, there was an outbreak of meningitis in Northern Nigeria and Kano State in particular was severely hit by the epidemic. Pfizer Inc, USA, a Pharmaceutical Company came to Kano at the peak of the epidemic and conducted a research study to compare the treatment outcome of the standard treatment regimen for meningitis with another regimen using a drug called TROVAN. The study involved 200 patients who were affected by meningitis and who came for treatment at the Infectious Diseases Hospital (IDH), France Road Sabon Gari, Kano. The aftermath of this investigation became a serious legal issue because of the way and manner the investigation was said to have been conducted by Pfizer Company.
After a protracted legal battle that went on for over 10 years after the epidemic and the research, the two parties (Kano State Government and Pfizer Inc. USA) reached a non-prosecution agreement. Part of the agreement provided for the setting up of a health facility worth USD 30.0million. The facility consisting of a Centre for Disease Control, Public Health Laboratory, Reference Microbiology Laboratory, Diagnostic Centre and Resident Staff Quarters was built. The Centre was handed over to Northwest University Kano in July, 2013 to be part of its Medical School to serve as a key player in driving research, capacity building and service delivery.
The Governing Council in its 6th meeting approved the name of the Centre to be Public Health And Diagnostic Institute (PDI) and to be part of the proposed medical college of the Northwest University, Kano. The main thrust of the Institute will be research in the control and management of infectious diseases, other non-communicable diseases of currency to Nigeria and West Africa as well as the management of public issues. The institute also has a state-of-the-art diagnostic center reasonably equipped with different specialized modern diagnostic equipment. This is to serve as an added function of the center.
The structure, function, and legal status of the center are based on the model of the Infectious Disease Institute (IDI), College of Health Sciences, Makerere University Uganda. A proposal for collaboration between Northwest University and IDI Uganda in operationalizing the new center in Kano has been developed by the two parties.
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