Africa Centre of Excellence for Neglected Tropical Diseases and Forensic Biotechnology

1. Africa Centre of Excellence forNeglected Tropical Diseasesand Forensic Biotechnology Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria

2. Briefs on Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria

3. Aerial View of a Section of the University

4. Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) • large and diverse group of diseases that disproportionately affect health and livelihood of the poor in the developing world • typically lack attention and funding for research and development.

5. Challenges • Insufficient knowledge of the distribution and burden of NTDs, since there is no available database on the distribution of NTDs in Nigeria. • Lack of appropriate diagnostic tools • Lack of effective drugs and treatment failures due to the emergence of resistant strains of pathogens. • Absence of suitable vaccines and other preventive strategies such as vector control or other measures to disrupt the life cycle of the pathogens

6. African trypanosomiasis • disease that is resurgent in Africa contributing to heavy economic losses and socio-political crisis in the continent. • In human trypanosomiasis the parasites ultimately invade the brain, resulting in the disease syndrome known as sleeping sickness.

7. In Africa, trypanosomiasis occurs in 37 countries, extending to over 10 million square kilometres, a third of the continent. • It is estimated that 50 million cattle (about 30% of Africa's total cattle population) are exposed to the risk of infection. • In Nigeria and the West African sub-region the distribution of the different Trypanosoma species is unknown

8. Lymphatic Filariasis (LF) • also known as elephantiasis in humans, is a disabling, disfiguring, and stigmatizing disease caused by the infection with nematodes. • The disease is transmitted by mosquitoes and has socio-economic burden in the rural poor communities in tropical and sub-tropical countries. • One billion of the world population are at risk in over 80 countries.

9. In Africa, LF affects over 40 million people in the sub-Saharan region where the prevalence in some communities in East Africa exceed 30%. • In Nigeria, no available reliable data on LF burden exist, due to lack of a database on the distribution of this NTD

10. Diagnosis • Clinically, diagnosis can be made on circumstantial evidence with support from antibody or other laboratory assays such as immune-chromatographic test, which is not very reliable • This calls for the use of more sensitive, species specific and stage-independent diagnostic molecular tools.

11. Rabies • highly fatal viral zoonosis caused by members of the genus Lyssavirus, characterised by encephalomyelitis. • At least 55,000 people die annually from rabies worldwide and over 90% result following transmission after a dog bite. • The burden of rabies lies heavily in the developing world with over 40% in Africa.

12. In these regions, the main reservoir is the domestic dog. • The population of the reservoirs is increasing, stray dogs are common on the streets and owned dogs are poorly catered for. • Human exposure following a dog bite exposes about 10,000 people to rabies annually in Nigeria and capacity for accurate diagnosis of the disease is limited

13. Rabies is grossly underreported especially in the regions with the highest disease burden and • the extent of spread and the genotypes responsible for the diseases are not fully known

14. All these challenges in NTDs require expertise in molecular biotechnology. • Such expertise is urgently needed in the private and public sectors, such as Forensic science.

15. Forensic Science • The West African region is faced with lots of challenges ranging from • crimes, • organized kidnap by criminal gangs and • immigration issues

16. Forensics • disasters emanating from wars, fire out breaks, air and road accidents, makes it difficult for relations to identify family members culminating into mass burial. • The increasing difficulty to resolve murder and paternity problems and claims to different genealogies, has • diminished our ranking in modern science, and • our ability to exploit current developments in the resolution of social challenges.

17. Academic and Research Programs • Postgraduate Diploma in Forensic Biotechnology • Diploma in Entomology • MSc Biotechnology • PhD Biotechnology • MSc/PhD Biochemistry • MSc/PhD Biological Sciences • MSc/PhD Veterinary Public Health • MSc/PhD Pharmaceutical Microbiology

18. Regional Student Plan • Provision of Accommodation waivers • Provision of Reagents and Infrastructure • Joint supervision

19. Industry/Sector Partnership • Nigerian Police and Interpol • INEC • Helen Keller Foundation • African Program on Onchocerciasis Control • Dairy Industries

20. Sustainable Financing Plan • Consultancy with Security Agencies • School fees • Partnership with Industries (Vaccines, Animal production)

21. Implementation Arrangements • Existence of Monitoring and Evaluation Office on Revised Plan (lessons from World Bank Step B) • Steering Committee • International Advisory Board

22. Procurement Arrangements • Finance Officer, Accountant, Auditor • Procurement Act of the FGN • Rules and Regulations of the World Bank • Sourcing • National Competitive Bidding (NCB) • International Competitive Bidding (ICB)

23. Proposal Information The aims of the proposed African Centre for Excellence (ACE) are: • to conduct research on Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) and • to use the expertise in molecular techniques applied in NTD research for capacity building in other fields such as forensic biotechnology

24. The project has a head start as project Partners already have preliminary information that TS genes are developmentally regulated in Trypanosomes • This knowledge will cut down on the selection of potential epitopes for the construction of DNA based vaccines

25. A complementary objective of the Consortium is • to deploy its competences in the area of recombinant DNA technology to capacity building in the area of Forensic biotechnology. • One of the Work Packages focuses on this priority and includes several specific training modules

26. Capacity building At least 100 personnel will be trained in 24 months skilled in the use of PCR in the delineation of paternity disputes, and crime intelligence and Gene bank documentation

27. Key selected Disbursement Linked Indicators (selected DLIs) • 35 % M.Sc. and PhD Students-regional from 2015-2018 • 25 publications in Elsevier rated Journals • International accreditation : • Thompson, • DAAD • Spanish Medical Research Council • Shanghai

28. Number/ % (Indicator Definition: Count of non –national students in new ACE courses

29. Internationally (regionally/sub-regionally) accredited education programs (→ Training Quality)

30. No of faculty trained in an area relevant to the ACE-Programme, through training carried out by or organized through the ACEs (→ Training Quality)

31. % of non-national students studying for at least 1 semester/ academic term in ACEs, in a discipline supported through the ACE-Programme (→Regionality

32. Organogram

33. Key ACE Partners in the Region • Nigerian Institute for Trypanosomiasis Research (NITR) • Nigerian Medical Research Institute (NIMR) • University of Ngaoundere (Cameroun) • Institute for Agricultural Research for Development Cameroon

34. International Collaborators Outside the Region • University of Bremen (University of Excellence in Germany) • Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, Atlanta, USA) • Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel • University of Western Cape, South Africa • Institute of Tropical Medicine, Nagasaki University, Japan

35. Core Team Members

36. Thank you