UNN HOLDS CONSULTATIVE FORUM ON BIO-TECHNOLOGY

It should be recalled that the Executive Board of UNESCO, had at its 186th meeting held at its headquarters in Paris, from May 13 to 19, 2011, approved the proposal for the establishment of UNESCO Category 2 International Centre for Biotechnology at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.

At a three-day consultative forum organised by the university recently, the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Bartho Okolo said, forum represented a significant first step in the journey towards the establishment of a UNESCO Category II Biotechnology Centre in the institution.

'Considering the need to get it right from the first step, this forum was conceived to create an avenue for us – stakeholders to brain-storm and strategise on the way forward in the establishment of the Centre of Excellence in Biotechnology that we desire', he said.

He explained that the UNESCO Category 2 Institute was being established with the aim of strengthening the national and regional capacities in all aspects of modern Biotechnology. He said the centre was being challenged to play a leading role in the achievement of Strategic Programme Objective (SPO) of UNESCO in the sector.

'It is instructive that the key mandates of this Centre include the research of African problems related to Food security, Tropical diseases, including emerging and re-emerging diseases, conservation of bio resources and environmental management and control,' he declared.

'Expectedly, the centre will be instrumental in producing the next generation of biotechnology specialists, who will apply cutting edge technologies to tackle the real problems that constrain our development as a continent,' he added.

Professor Okolo said that the UNESCO Centre of Excellence in Biotechnology would be the first of its kind in Africa and has been conceived to operate as a hub, in collaboration with other biotechnology Institutes, centres and universities in the sub-region. 'By so doing, the Centre will foster and promote collaboration between practitioners within and outside Africa in the pursuit of its mandate,' he said.

Making a presentation earlier, the co-ordinator of the Institute, Professor Jerry Ugwuanyi, said the centre would serve the biotechnology need of Africa, emphasising South -South co-operation as well as increase the contribution of Biotechnology to solving regional problems.

The coordinator said that researches on tropical diseases such as malaria were being conducted in non infested malaria regions, but present researches would be conducted in regions where malaria exists and vaccines in dosage forms would be developed to ward off malaria.

In his own remarks, the Director/Country Representative of UNESCO in Nigeria, Dr. Joseph Ngu, said that the proposed International Centre would promote food security and tropical disease research and also provide a platform for exchange and collaboration at the national level and within the region and beyond.

According to him, 'Research and funding in tropical diseases are low and the work of this Centre will make a significant contribution to the body of knowledge on these diseases, helping to fill the existing gap.'

Dr Ngu commended the Vice-Chancellor, saying: 'It goes without saying that good leadership is crucial and will ensure steady progress and the attainment of the set objectives. The commitment and personal investment of Professor Bartholomew Okolo, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka can only be commended in this regard as he sets the standard which I hope will be taken forward with this project in the future.'

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