Vice Chancellor of the University of Port Harcourt Prof Owunari Georgewill, has called on the Nigerian Biological Safety Association (NIBSA) to assist the government curb the spread of infectious dieseases in the country.
Georgewill said this in Port Harcourt while declaring open the association’s conference.
Represented by the Deputy Vice Chancellor, Academics of the university, Prof Kingsley Owete, he described the conference, which held at the Institute of Petroleum Studies, Uniport, as a welcome development in view of the challenges caused by infectious dieseases in the country.
The Vice Chancellor expressed the hope that the conference will come up with blazing innovations that will curb the trends of infectious dieseases in the country.
He also declared the readiness of the institution to support the association in all its activities.
In his welcome address, the National President of the association, Prof Abiodun A. Denloye, said members of the association have been providing skilled manpower for the diagnostic and analytical interventions in the fight against pathogens and diseases.
“Also, the Academic NiBSAItes have been involved in research as well as curriculum development and delivery in Nigeria’s tertiary institutions.
“Furthermore, our members have taken their pride of place in regional biosafety and biosecurity initiatives, including the West African Biorisk Management Network and the African centre for Dieseases Control”, Denloye said.
He also said membership strength of the Association has grown to over 750 across the country.
“With this, we have been fanning the embers of biological safety so much so that job follos have now included biosafety and our members appointed as biosafety officers in Research Institutes and diagnostic laboratory facilities.
“Also tertiary institutions also appoint our members to Institution biosafety committee and biosafety research ethics committees”, he said.
Also, chairman of the planning committee for the conference, Dr Austin Edache Abah, said the event marked the beginning of a journey of enlightenment towards knowing the critical point of intersection of biosecurity global health security and sustainable development.
“As we gather here, surrounded by the brightest minds and most dedicated professionals in the field, we are reminded of the profound significance of our work, be it biological and biomedical researchers, medical laboratory scientists, veterinarians, environmental scientists, medical doctors, nurses and other health professionals, agriculture education, and law engineering politics.
“Our collective commitment to exploring innovative strategies and fostering collaboration is fundamental to safeguarding our planet’s health and ensuring sustainable future for all”, he said.
Abah said the conference serves as a platform for bringing up insightful conversations exchanging ground breaking research and cultivating invaluable connection that transcends geographical boundaries.
In his words, “Through dynamic discourse and the sharing of best practices, we aim to unearth sustainable solutions that will address the multifaceted challenges of biosecurity in the context of our global health security agenda”.

Theme for the Conference was, “Deploying Biosecurity for Fulfilling Global Health Security Agenda and Sustainable Development”.

By: John Bibor