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The Chief Executive Officer of the Institute of Human Virology Nigeria (IHVN), Dr Patrick Dakum, has stated that the Institute will support Plateau State to strengthen structures for quality health services and research.

Dr Dakum stated this while welcoming the Executive Governor of Plateau State, His Excellency, Barr. Caleb Mutfwang to the IHVN Campus on a courtesy visit. He expressed his desire to offer technical support and guidance as the state implements programs to improve the capacity of its healthcare workers and provide excellent diagnostic and treatment services to its residents.

During the visit, the governor lauded the accomplishments of Dr. Dakum and the Institute in contributing to the well-being of Nigerians.

“I’ve always believed that Dr. Dakum has institutional knowledge and capacity which can add value to governance on the Plateau. The health sector is a very critical sector and without any doubt, it is a sector in need of critical intervention,” Barr Muftwang said.

The governor also toured the IHVN H3 Africa Biorepository, which processes, stores, maintains, and distributes high-quality biological specimens for researchers in Africa since 2010.

Nigeria is ranked 6^th among countries contributing to the global burden of tuberculosis. To increase finding of tuberculosis cases in the country, Institute of Human Virology Nigeria (IHVN) will participate in the National Tuberculosis (TB) Testing Week. The week is scheduled for 14^th to 20^th August 2023.

During the week, IHVN in collaboration with the National Tuberculosis and Leprosy Control Programme (NTBLCP), stakeholders and other partners, will conduct community awareness and enlightenment campaigns.

IHVN Coordinator Global Fund TB Public Private Mix Grant, Dr Temitope Adetiba, says that the week will also feature tuberculosis screening targeted at slums, IDP camps, churches, correctional centers, hard-to-reach areas as well as health facilities.

He adds that children and adults are eligible to be screened for tuberculosis in all the states where the Institute provides tuberculosis services.

IHVN is addressing tuberculosis in Edo, Delta, Cross River, Akwa Ibom, Benue, Oyo, Ondo, Osun, Ogun, Kogi, Niger, Sokoto, Plateau, Nasarawa, Kaduna, Anambra, Enugu, Rivers, Imo, Abia , Katsina, Lagos states and the Federal Capital Territory.

The Institute of Human Virology, Nigeria (IHVN) has distributed more than 200 HIV self-test kits to corp members volunteering in the Anti-HIV Community Development Service group in Abuja.

Prior to the distribution, the corp members who gathered at the Old Parade Ground in Abuja, received sensitization on the use of the kits. IHVN Senior Program Officer Prevention, Mr. Yaro Daniels said that “HIV self-test kits provide a user-friendly and easily accessible testing option as they can be completed at home or in private settings, eliminating the need for clinical visits and potential stigmatization. Many youths these days do not want to get tested for the fear of stigmatization,” he said.

He added that self-test kits offer an alternative testing method, reach individuals who may be reluctant or unable to visit healthcare facilities and those who might face barriers to accessing healthcare services such as key population. “This can lead to higher testing rates, and subsequently reduce the transmission of the virus. HIV self-test kits can provide a discreet and convenient testing option tailored to the specific needs of key population,” he said.

Anti-HIV Community Development Service Group Vice President, Mr. Basorun Abdul expressed his gratitude to IHVN for the practical sessions on the use of self-test kits. “We look forward to partnering with IHVN to ensure that people get tested and know their status,” he said.

Free HIV testing services were also provided to Corp Members at the event.

Institute of Human Virology Nigeria (IHVN) has commenced the 4^th Cohort of the Growing Expertise in E-Health Knowledge and Skills (GEEKS), a one year, competency-based, health informatics fellowship program.

GEEKS, which is funded by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (US-CDC), is implemented by IHVN and Africa Field Epidemiology Network (AFENET).

Fellows will be receiving training and mentorship from public health informatics professionals and will each work on a group project to develop competencies in data analytics and visualization, public health informatics and research.

Representatives from National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Federal Capital Territory Department of Health, Rivers State Ministry of Health and Lagos State Ministry of Health are participating in the GEEKS fellowship program.

The 2022 MPox (monkeypox) pandemic has brought a Nigerian and West/Central African endemic disease to global attention. As a result, new international collaborations were created and scientists across the world began to work towards a better understanding of mpox and its impact on all populations.  While the global outbreak outside Africa largely affected men who have sex with men, in African countries, children and pregnant women are at particular risk.  The European Union-funded VERDI Consortium comprises nearly 30 teams of researchers from 16 countries in Europe, Africa, North America, the Caribbean, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia (https://verdiproject.org/consortium/).

Given its track record of impactful infectious disease research, the International Research Centre of Excellence (IRCE) at the Institute of Human Virology, Nigeria (IHVN) was invited to join the VERDI consortium in 2022.

IRCE-IHVN has a VERDI sub-award to contribute Nigerian data to a global pediatric mpox registry, conduct qualitative studies on mpox in the Nigerian context, and to develop research tools and a master protocol for an observational study of mpox among pregnant women in Nigeria.

This study seeks to preempt future infectious disease outbreaks by consolidating pandemic preparedness measures. The VERDI country Principal Investigator for Nigeria is Dr. Nadia A. Sam-Agudu, Senior Research Faculty at the International Research Centre of Excellence at the Institute of Human Virology, Nigeria. Other members of the VERDI Nigeria team, include Chinye Osa-Afiana, Chibueze Adirieje, Esekwe Amadosi, Karima Yusufu, Adeyosola Adetunji, and Ifeoluwa Afolabi.