The World Bank has offered a funding of $8 million nearly N1.2 billion to University of Jos in Plateau state to set up African Centre of Excellence for implementing research facility on manufacturing drugs from plants. (phytomedicine).

The University’s Vice Chancellor, Professor Hayward Mafuyai said that the funding was bestowed on the university for carrying out research programs. He said that a group of researchers from the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Science will conduct the research activity.

The World Bank has offered a funding of $8 million nearly N1.2 billion to University of Jos in Plateau state to set up African Centre of Excellence for implementing research facility on manufacturing drugs from plants. (phytomedicine).

The University’s Vice Chancellor, Professor Hayward Mafuyai said that the funding was bestowed on the university for carrying out research programs. He said that a group of researchers from the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Science will conduct the research activity.

Mafuyai said we competed with about 52 universities in Africa and we were lucky to win the grant. The grant was given to the university to conduct researches to produce modern drugs from plants in Africa. The grant will be used to conduct researches on different leaves, roots and plants so as to extract their medicinal contents for the use of human beings. The money will be released to the researchers in phases so as to complete the work without hitches, he said.

He further added that the team of researchers from the university have produced some drugs for the use of Nigerians. Our researchers have produced anti-hypertension, anti-diabetes, anti-malaria drugs and anti-snake venom. We have sent the newly developed drugs to some overseas universities for further verification on their potency.

Professor Mafuyai said a Memorandum (MoU) of Understanding has been signed by the University of Jos with University of Cape- Coast in Ghana to coach and educate its employees. He said the MOU is signed for initial three year duration for the purpose of omithology: to develop and carry out conservation based training.

University of Jos was ranked the most excellent from the group of universities in the country at the second Education Innovation Exhibition in Abuja.

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UNIJOS gets $8 million from World Bank to execute research