A Nigerian neuroscientist, Prof. Mahmoud Bukar Maina, has warned that Africans remain at risk of using medicines whose safety and effectiveness may not have been adequately tested on African populations.
Maina said the problem went beyond dementia research, stressing that African populations were often underrepresented in the research and clinical trials used to determine how medicines work and the side effects they may cause.
He raised the concern in Abuja at the 23rd Scientific Conference and Annual General Meeting of the Neuroscience Society of Nigeria, where he called for increased investment in research tailored to Africa’s health needs.
“Oftentimes, the side effect is because when the drug was being developed, from the preclinical level to the clinical level, it has never been tested in our own people.
“So we are consumers, instead of us driving our own needs,” he said.
According to Maina, Africa’s genetic diversity makes locally generated medical evidence critical, as findings from studies conducted in Europe, North America and other regions cannot always be assumed to apply equally to African populations.
He said the research gap was particularly worrying in dementia, with cases in West Africa projected to rise by 348 per cent over the next 25 years.
Maina noted that despite the anticipated increase, less than one per cent of global dementia research had come from Africa as of 2022.
“That means we are not prepared to tackle this challenge that is about to hit us in the next 25 years,” he said.
Maina, who is Director of the Biomedical Science Research and Training Centre at Yobe State University and Special Adviser to the Yobe State Governor on Science, Innovation and Research, said his research programme was working to generate evidence specific to African populations.
He explained that his team was studying people living with dementia, focusing on genetic factors, biomarkers and other characteristics that could influence the risk and progression of the disease.
The researchers are also deploying induced pluripotent stem-cell technology to develop brain cells in the laboratory from cells obtained from research participants. The approach enables them to study disease processes at the cellular level.
Maina stressed that the research was not intended to remain within Africa, noting that his team compares its findings with research from Europe, North America and other regions to contribute to the global understanding of dementia and related conditions.
He, however, identified inadequate funding as the major obstacle to brain research in Africa, alongside shortages of equipment, laboratory consumables and research facilities, as well as limited collaboration and public engagement.
“Funding is the biggest, biggest challenge,” he said.
The neuroscientist urged governments, philanthropists and communities to increase investment in brain research, arguing that healthier populations would translate into higher productivity and stronger economic growth.
“If your population is healthy and they can think and do things well, you are going to have more people that contribute positively to your economy,” Maina added.
