President Muhammadu Buhari has been named the champion for global eradication of sickle cell disease, by the National Institute of Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRD).
The President and Commander in Chief, who was represented by the Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, received the award in Abuja on Tuesday.
Speaking at the presentation of the award, the Director-General of the institute, Dr. Obi Adigwe, stated that apart from presenting the award to the president, as a mark of honour for his administration support for the agency, the occasion also afforded the institute the opportunity to brief the President on their recent achievements.
According to him, the federal government has supported and empowered NIPRD to champion the eradication of sickle cell disease more than previous governments
He also highlights NIPRD’s contributions to the concepts and innovations targeted at mitigating the devastating effects and disorder from sickle cell disease across sub-Saharan Africa.
According to Adigwe, with the support of President Buhari, NIPRD convened and developed a phytomedicine verification and validation protocol to ascertain the safety and efficacy of indigenous resources.
Doctor Adigwe also notes other breakthroughs in phytomedicine such as the discovery of NIPRIMUNE and NIPRIMUNE PLUS, which have strong potentials against COVID-19.
According to him, both medicines have been Listed by NAFDAC, and are currently undergoing various levels of clinical trials
