The federal government has disclosed that the ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (STI), through its agencies has produced sickle cell and hypertension medicines, as well as ventilators and disinfectants.
The Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Olorunnimbe Mamora revealed this on Tuesday at a ministerial briefing of the presidential communication team at the presidential villa in Abuja.
According to Mamora, besides the gains STI had made in the health sector, it has also contributed to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and the agricultural sector.
He said: “Other important achievements in health related sector include; the use of local herbs, plants and traditional medical technology in production of drugs for treatment of terminal illness and diseases.
“Some of these include production of Nutraceuticals for the management of diseases like the Sickle Cell Anaemia; development of antilipemic/hypolipidemic snacks from selected fruits for the management of Obesity Snacks & Fruits from FIIRO, Lagos.
“Utilisation of Neem extracts for the production of skin care oral hygiene products; development of anti-hypertensive drinks from selected local raw materials; development of anti-sickling phytodrugs from selected local raw materials; development and production of Lovastatin from Oyster Mushroom as a pharmaceutical raw material. This is a novel research work, the first of its kind in Nigeria, as the yield of Lovastatin was over 76 per cent. Currently, the country imports this medicine to treat high incidence of cholesterol and other heart diseases (RMRDC).”
“We are also into the production of Tacca tuber for the production of starch and glucose Syrup-A process technology for the production of glucose syrup was developed by RMRDC in collaboration with SHESTCO and the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta,” he stated.
He further said, “There is the formulation and human studies of an anti-oxidant Rich Nutraceutical supplements in the management of metabolic syndrome and diabetic mellitus. In protecting the health of Nigerians, the Ministry built the first facility to prevent, detect and combat biological, radiological, nuclear and improvised explosive device (IEDs) attacks in Nigeria, and growing indigenous capacity to mitigate these threats nationwide.”
The minister added that the President Muhammadu Buhari administration had been busy with ideas and efforts to move Nigeria from a resource-driven to a knowledge-driven economy.
“What we hope to achieve is to move from resource based-economy to knowledge-based. This is important because there is no resource that cannot be exhausted, but one resource you cannot exhaust is knowledge. The more you know, the more you want to know, it is not exhaustible. So, that is our goal; that is what we want to achieve,” Mamora added.
