May 2007 - Nigeria Meeting

Tuesday, May 8th, 2007. Abuja, Nigeria

Communiqué – First African International Symposium on Avian Pandemic Influenza and Anti-Virals

Given the recent outbreaks of the H5N1 avian influenza in poultry in eight African countries and the subsequent spread of the disease to humans, the threat of an influenza pandemic has become very real. An outbreak of pandemic influenza could cause severe mortality and acute economic and social disruption in Africa and around the world. Additionally, other viral diseases, such as HIV/AIDS and Lassa fever, continue to cause death and suffering across the African continent.

To address the threat that viral diseases pose, the Nigerian Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH), the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources (FMAWR), and the Federal Ministry of Information and Communications (FMIC), in collaboration with the International Consortium on Anti-Virals (ICAV), the World Bank and the WHO, organized the First African International Symposium on Avian Pandemic Influenza and Anti-Virals at Abuja from 7th to 8th May, 2007. An integral component of the Symposium is the parallel training workshop on AIV Genomics and Bioinformatics which is taking place at National Biotechnology Development Agency (NABDA) from 5th to 11th May, 2007.

The Honourable Minister of Health, Professor Eyitayo Lambo, and Otunba Bamidele Dada, the Honourable Minister of State for Agriculture and Water Resources, jointly performed the opening ceremony and made valuable contributions. A special message was presented on behalf of Dr. David Nabarro, the UN Special Envoy on Avian and Pandemic Influenza, by Mrs. Lyn Haslet-Hawkins. The symposium brought together over 200 scientists and experts from Canada, USA, Germany, Hong Kong, China, Luxembourg, Ghana, Cameroon and the host country Nigeria.

At the end of the two-day symposium, during which 30 presentations were made and duly discussed, the Symposium resolved that:

An African Influenza Virus Sequence Database be launched by integrating Nigerian viral sequences into a unified database. Once established, the database be further expanded to include sequence data from other African countries.
The existing Nigerian avian influenza viral collections be integrated into a national virus depository with open access to scientists.

To facilitate the implementation of the above resolutions, the ICAV Africa Regional Office will be opened within the next six months in Nigeria with Dr. Oyekanmi Nash as the Regional Director.
This office will have a mandate to:

Identify scientists, physicians and experts to participate in the ICAV project;
Facilitate technology and information transfer and assist in building African scientific capacity; and
Identify specific gaps within the African scientific environment where ICAV can add expertise.

The long-term goal of this initiative is to foster partnerships between African and international scientists and experts, governments, NGOs and the private sector to build national and regional capacity to achieve self-sufficiency in anti-viral drug research and development.

Furthermore, the International Consortium on Anti-Virals (ICAV) announced the appointment of Professor Oyewale Tomori (Vice Chancellor, Redeemer’s University, Nigeria) as a member of its International Steering Committee. Dr. Abdulsalami Nasidi (Director, Special Projects at the Federal Ministry of Health, Abuja) was also appointed as the Chairman of the ICAV-Africa’s Advisory Board.

The Symposium acknowledges the support of the participants as well as the following partners: the Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH), the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources (FMAWR), the Federal Ministry of Information and Communications (FMIC), the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology (FMST) the World Bank, the UN System in Nigeria, WHO and ICAV (ICAV is a not-for-profit drug development organization that coordinates a network of scientists and experts with the goal of rapidly producing efficient and affordable therapies for viral diseases). The efforts of Drs. Abdulsalami Nasidi and Oyekanmi Nash while organizing the Symposium and Workshop are duly appreciated.