Interest in African genome grows despite lack of public funding

Increasing interest in African genomics is riding a wave of investment in Nigeria in studying everything from diabetes to cholera.

In the capital Abuja, researchers are refurbishing the National Reference Laboratory to analyse the DNA from 200,000 blood samples in their biobank. In the Southwestern region, a private institution is building a US$3.9 million genomic centre at the Redeemer’s University. Nigeria is also about to receive its first for-profit genetics endeavour, called 54Gene, which will focus on chronic diseases such as cancer and Alzheimer.

However, the lack of national funding for these projects limits the government’s ability to set research agendas, and scientists spend part of their resources in overcoming infrastructure challenges such as an unreliable electrical grid.

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