Chioma Nnamani (Lead writer)
“Healthcare research is not just about research,” Dr Olajide Sobande, Executive Director of the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research Foundation, explained. “It’s about economy, it’s about security, it’s about development. They say the next pandemic is just a time away. The question remains; have we developed local capacity to be able to respond to these emergencies when they come?”
The emigration of healthcare workers has become one of the most disruptive forces in Nigeria’s already fragile healthcare system. While healthcare professionals are migrating in a bid to seek greener pastures, health research suffers an equally damaging loss.
The issue of underfunding by the government, with limited support from the private sector, has left many early-career researchers without the resources to contribute to solving the country’s pressing health challenges or practical skills needed to compete with their foreign counterparts.
In response to this, the NIMR Foundation, an independent, non-profit organisation affiliated with the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research was established to attract private and philanthropic investment into health research. The idea was simple, since government funding is not enough, why not look elsewhere especially to the private sector, get support to fund research and build up the next generation of researchers?
“The Nigerian Institute for Medical Research wasn’t meant to do research in isolation,” Dr. Sobande noted during an interview. “It was supposed to help solve Nigeria’s health problems through research and not just do research for the sake of it.”
However, underfunding limited the institute’s ability to fulfil this vision and instead of waiting indefinitely for government support, a not-for-profit body that could work alongside the institute was established in February 2020, to raise funds from the private sector, advocate the need for increased public investment in health research and build the capacity of researchers.
Grantsmanship and Mentorship Training Programme
The Grantsmanship and Mentorship Training Programme (GMTP), was designed to help early career researchers with the skills and support needed to write high-quality, fundable proposals that can kickstart their research careers.
Every year, a cohort of 30 participants is carefully selected through a nationwide call, with deliberate attention to representation from all six geopolitical zones in Nigeria. The selection criteria requires that applicants be early-career researchers employed at a research-focused institution or teaching hospital, with proof of institutional support.
After selection, the training is held in two phases, a five-week online module on systematic review, research development, and manuscript writing, followed by a two-week in-person training, which brings participants together for practical sessions, mentorship, and networking opportunities. And then a mentorship session extended through nine-months after the physical training. During this period, participants are assigned to mentors in their respective fields and continue to receive guidance.
Image credit: NIMR Foundation
For Dr Lawrence Dayo Adedayo, a GMTP 2024 fellow and a senior lecturer at the Federal University of Wukari in Taraba State, the results were immediate. He shared that the programme has helped him secure a grant from the International Society of Neurochemistry, which took him to global trainings in Morocco and Malaysia, he also secured a Tetfund Institution-Based Research grant, among others.
Reflecting on his experience, he said, “I was initially shocked when I was shortlisted for the Grantsmanship training, but I am happy because ever since that time, it has been from one opportunity to another.”
Dr Adedayo’s experience is not isolated. In a similar locally led research capacity-building programme, implemented under Nigeria’s National Surgical, Obstetrics, Anaesthesia and Nursing Plan (NSOANP), 65 participants were trained in research, grant writing, and manuscript development. At the end, 70% of participants reported skill improvement, ability to initiate research projects, publish manuscripts and secure grants. This mirrors global evidence highlighting how research capacity strengthening can contribute to broader health system improvement. These opportunities will strengthen Nigeria’s capacity to develop its research workforce and improve its scientific capabilities.
Strengthening the approach and improving delivery
A key part of NIMR Foundation’s approach is how it secures funding. The foundation can receive direct support from private individuals and corporate donors, allowing them to build partnerships that may not have been possible under a government institution.
“One of the major reasons why the foundation was established was for it to come up with innovative financing mechanism especially from the private sector and that is where our incorporated trust comes in, because they have been the one for the most part who use their network and leverage to source funds for the foundation.” said Dr Sobande.
Funding, however, is just a piece of the equation. In a bid to strengthen the programme’s impact, the foundation has continued to refine its training model.
Earlier cohorts before 2024, had no online preparation and this was a gap highlighted by Dr Ijeoma Ifeorah, a 2023 fellow and a lecturer at the College of Medicine, University of Nigeria Nsukka who won the African Research Excellence Fund and Research Development Fellowship; Beginning Investigator Grant for Catalytic Research; and an institutional seed award from the Northwestern University in Chicago.
Dr Ifeorah explained that, “one of the things that I felt that would have been better was if we had online trainings before the physical training, it would have gone a long way in helping us.”
Image credit: NIMR Foundation
The Foundation introduced and later expanded the virtual component, growing from five weeks to 15 weeks, as noted by 2025 fellow Dr Posi Aduroja.
The cost of doing more
Funding constraints remain a major challenge for the programme, influencing everything from the scale of its delivery to participant comfort. “Some things at the venue need improvement, the furniture, for instance, was not very good, and it made sitting for several hours during the sessions quite uncomfortable,” Dr Lawrence Dayo Adedayo, a 2024 fellow, reported.
“Lack of adequate funding also meant the programme runs annually instead of bi-annually as originally intended and this is why advocacy and pushing for sustained government investment in healthcare research remains a central part of the foundation’s work, however, we’ve been able to leverage on technology, lecturers can now deliver sessions remotely and mentoring can be done hands-on but online.” Dr Sobande explained.
He added that sustained government investment in healthcare research is crucial, as improved funding would expand participation, upgrade facilities, and strengthen Nigeria’s capacity to solve its own health challenges.