By Rosemary Ogbonnaya
Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Dr Adeleke Mamora has said that the Federal Government will collaborate with relevant stakeholders on the Stem Cell Transplantation Technology (NACRASTIN) in Nigeria to save the lives of Citizens.
Mamora said this when the National Committee on the Research and Application of STEM CELL Transplantation Technology (NACRASTIN) in Nigeria paid him a courtesy visit in his office in Abuja.
He stated that Stem Cells are cells with the ability to differentiate into different types of cells in the body which also serves as a repair of system in the body.
According to him, one cannot overemphasize the benefits of Stem Cell Therapy all over the world except in Nigeria, stressing that so many people could have gone to the great beyond if not for the use of the therapy.
The Minister assured the Committee of the government’s readiness to assist in setting up therapy centres in the country, as the Ministry will source funds from stakeholders and partners.
This he said must not be a pipe dream but a reality that will come to pass, he stated.
In his speech, the Minister of State for Science, Technology and Innovation, Chief Ikechukwu Ikoh thanked the team for the quality of job they have done for the country and assured them that the ministry will give them all the necessary support needed in terms of actualizing what they have started.
Ikoh further said that this project carried out by the Committee is one of the low-hanging fruit the ministry is looking for to benefit all and sundry.
Earlier, the Chairman of the National Committee on the Research and Application of Stem Cell Technology, NACRASTIN in Nigeria,Dr Perry Iloegbunam told the Minister that the commencement of Stem Cell Therapy administration in Nigeria could not only obviate expensive overseas medical treatment trips but could enable all Nigerians and Africans irrespective of status and locations access this groundbreaking 21st-century medical technology at affordable cost.
According to the Chairman, Stem Cell therapy is very important in the country and there is need to leverage on it to bring the therapy very close to our people.
He stated that the ministry is working with the Stem Cell Committee to see that they have the therapy on the desk for Nigerians to benefit.
The Director-General of the National Biotechnology Development Agency,NABDA, Professor Abdullahi Mustapha, told the minister that he pledged composite and comprehensive support to the programme as it is geared toward the development of the country and the safety of lives of the citizenry.
