Dr Tanko Sununu, the Minister of State for Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, has charged scientists and researchers to focus on utilising available resources toward promoting solutions of poverty and underdevelopment.
Sununu made the call at the Annual Scientific Conference and Alumni meeting organized by College of Health Sciences (CHS) of Usmanu Danfodio University Sokoto (UDUS) on Saturday in Sokoto.
He stressed the importance for promoting technology and innovations, skills acquisition trainings and climate change smart initiatives on solving lingering challenges in nation’s communities.
Sununu urged researchers to utilise the available resources in our environment to conduct good researches and actualize the results, findings and outcomes on poverty reduction efforts.
The Minister highlighted the the relationship between application of technology and indigenous knowledge for enhanced health and other sectors outcomes.
According to him, research enhances agricultural value-chain practices, improved cultivation harvests and livestock farming that were suitable to environmental changes as well as climate change mitigation strategies.
He commended UDUS for initiating scientific and non scientific research programmes that focuses on providing solutions to societies challenges.
In his keynote address, Prof. Shaibu Oricha-Bello, who is further CHS Provost described research and innovation as critical tools of harnessing human and environmental potentialities.
Oricha-Bello said the conference theme “Innovations in health research and practice for sustainable development in Nigeria” was on right direction chosen to contribute more toward nations growth.
He further lauded the organizers for the selection of two sub-themes in the conference “strengthening health systems through evidenced based research and policy” and “leveraging technology and indigenous knowledge for improved health outcomes,”
In his address, the CHS Provost,
Prof. Abdulgafar Jimoh, said the ideas reflects an interplay between evidence based innovative health research, practice, policy and the sustainable development of any nation.
Jimoh explained that the college houses five faculties, two schools, two institutes, and two associated advanced centres of excellence in research and training responsible for training of medical doctors, dentists nurses, medical laboratory scientists and all other Allied Health professionals.
” Besides undergraduate programmes, the college also runs a robust postgraduate program in all specialties of medicine and allied health sciences.
” It is worthy to note that CHS-UDUS is running the largest PhD programmes in the country across specialties of clinical sciences.
” The college associated with research centres of excellence and contributing its fair share to improving medical education, advancing healthcare and improving health outcomes with cutting edge researches and surgical procedures.
” The services included kidney transplant in Sokoto and environs and research findings published in high impact journals as a way of dissemination and contribution to the body of knowledge, he added.
The Vice Chancellor, Prof. Bashir Garba, reassured more support for medical and health education and commitment to upholding regulatory as well as professional standards.
Garba said CHS foster a conducive learning environment which is playing a crucial role in shaping the future of our budding medical and health professionals.
The Newsmen reports that further UDUS Vice Chancellor, Prof. Riskuwa Arabu-Shehu,
Chief Medical Director of Usmanu Danfodio University, Prof. Anas Sabir and Vice Chancellor Federal University Birnin-Kebbi, Prof. Zayyan Umar, made presentations among others.
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