Nigeria's TETFund urges scientists to fast‑track first Lassa fever vaccine

The Executive Secretary of Nigeria’s Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), Sonny Echono, tasked researchers at the Federal University of Health Sciences, Otukpo, to identify the quickest route to develop the country’s first indigenous Lassa fever vaccine. Speaking in Abuja after presentation of a TETFund‑sponsored Mega Research Project, Echono highlighted the disease’s heavy toll—5,000 to 10,000 deaths annually—and called for practical recommendations to accelerate vaccine development. He pledged that the findings would be forwarded to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and the Federal Ministry of Health and said validation could support the creation of a national vaccine development centre.

The project, funded by a N250 million Mega Research Grant, produced extensive data on Lassa fever epidemiology, diagnosis, management and control, upgraded laboratory infrastructure and trained young scientists. The university’s vice‑chancellor, Prof. Francis Uba, and principal investigator, Prof. Joseph Okopi, urged designation of the institution as a National Centre of Excellence in Infectious Diseases Research to strengthen Nigeria’s capacity to tackle emerging pathogens.