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The National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR) on 10th July, 2024, launched a 10-day training on genomic surveillance in the cross-border ecosystem of western Tanzania. The training was conducted at Maweni Regional Referral Hospital in Kigoma. It targeted building capacity among the frontline healthcare workforce to timely detect and outsmart pathogens of epidemic potential and improve individual clinical management.In his introductory remarks, Dr. Calvin Sindato, a Health Epidemiologist and Head of NIMR Tabora Station, said that the training of the frontliners represents one of the objectives of the GREATLIFE project involving all the East African countries.Further, Dr Sindato said that the project targets to decentralize field-deployable, affordable, and mobile genomic surveillance technology to enhance risk-based mitigations against infectious diseases of epidemic potential, including antimicrobial resistance in clinical settings and environments.“Through the project, the genomic sequencing infrastructure of the health facilities in the cross-border ecosystem will be established.” Said Dr Sindato.The first cohort of 15 laboratory workforce trainees has been drawn from the Kigoma Regional Referral Hospital, Buhigwe District Council, Kasulu District Council, and Nyarugusu Refugee Camp while the training facilitators were from NIMR and Kilimanjaro Clinical Research Institute.

The State University of Zanzibar (SUZA) delegation led by the Vice Chancellor Prof. Mohamed M. Haji visited NIMR Mbeya Research Centre from 9th to 11th July 2024 to familiarize with research activities undertaken by the institute. The SUZA delegation consisted of Deputy Vice Chancellor – Academic, Research and Consultancy, Dr Ali M. Ussi, Dean of School of Health and Medical Sciences, Dr. Salma A. Mahmoud, Head of Department of Microbiology and Immunology Dr Seif S. Seif, Head of Department of Pathology and Biochemistry and Coordinator of Research and Publications – Degree level, School of Health and Medical Sciences Dr. Chukwuma J. Okafur and Research Coordinator – Diploma, Dr Saad M. Khamis in addition to the Vice Chancellor had opportunity to listen to various scientific presentations of ongoing projects undertaken by NIMR MMRC, paid a courtesy call to Songwe RMO, did a tour to Tunduma Health Centre which is now used as a satellite site to conduct LIFE2Scale study. The delegation had also opportunity to tour Tuberculosis, Safety and Immunology laboratories which have been accredited by ISO and College of American Pathologists (CAP) well as research clinic, pharmacy, specimen and source documents archive. During opening remarks, NIMR Director General Prof Said Aboud welcomed the delegation and expressed readiness to collaborate with SUZA in research and training. NIMR team included Director of Research Coordination and Promotion Dr Nyanda E. Ntinginya, Ag Centre Manager Dr Issa Sabi and Heads of Shedule namely Dr Lilian Tina Minja (Research programs), Dr Bariki Mtafya (Laboratory Sciences), Lwitiho Sudi (Safety and Immunology Laboratory), Dr Christina Manyama (Research Scientist) and Dr Lucas Maganga (Senior Research Scientist). The visit from SUZA comes after signing of MoU and a visit of NIMR delegation to SUZA in July 2023. NIMR Director General and SUZA Vice Chancellor reiterated their commitments to strengthen research and training collaboration between the two Institutes for the benefit of the people in the United Republic of Tanzania.

The National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR) today on 2nd July, 2024 conducted refresher training for reviewers on ethics in health research, from basic ethics principles to clinical trials and study designs, the discussions paved the way for better health research practices.The discussions are based on health research regulations, basic ethical principles, the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), the review of clinical trial protocols, qualitative study design, quantitative study design, and cross-cutting issues related to the submission and review of health research protocols.The event serves as a crucial platform to refresh the reviewers on the issues that might improve the regulations of health research through the review process.In his opening remarks, the Director General of NIMR Prof. Said Aboud said the number and types of health research protocols submitted to NIMR for approval have increased, necessitating additional review to ensure that they meet basic ethical principles and are relevant to national and international health research laws, regulations, and guidelines.Additionally, Prof. Aboud mentioned that they have amended the existing guidelines, standard operating procedures, and other frameworks that govern health research regulations, and they have updated rules and a client service charter which is available on NIMR website as of 2023.“Moreover, we recently transitioned from old, lengthy, cumbersome, and tiresome review processes that required physical submission to a current operational Research Information Management System (REIMS), an online-based system that has facilitated the review and approval processes for health research protocols”, Prof. Aboud empasized.The two-day workshop took place at the Edema Hotel and Conference Centre in Morogoro. Participants were drawn from different institutions with diverse expertise and experience in health research who are potential reviewers and National ethics approval committee members for the research conducted in our country. LABILA LABILA LABILA LABILA LABILA LABILA LABILA LABILA LABILA LABILA

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The National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR) on 20th June, 2024 conducted training for Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) based in Dar es Salaam, on the National Research Ethics Information Management System (NREIMS) to learn the new system as a tool for the online health research protocol review and approval at both the National and Institutional levels of research ethics clearance processes.During the training participants navigated throughout the system and learned the functionalities of the multi-IRB research ethics clearance system hence the name NREIMS. In her opening remarks, on behalf of NIMR Director General, Dr. Elizabeth Shayo, Principal Research Officer at NIMR said NREIMS development involved various strategies including generation of the need assessment report indicating health research clearance processes of related institutes in the country, organizing various stakeholders meetings for deliberation of successful development of the system, preparation of NREIMS Concept Note that was reviewed and approved by the e-Government Authority (eGA), development of software requirement specifications (SRS) that justified development of the system. Further, Dr. Shayo reminded that on 14th and 18th June 2024, NIMR conducted NREIMS User Acceptance Test (UAT) workshop to NatHREC Secretariat, bringing together Administrators, Reviewers, Researchers, ICT personnel, and the management for the purpose of testing the validity of NREIMS. Report of the UAT workshop indicated that all the test modules of the system are functional and ready to serve the purpose of the online, one stop-centre multi-IRB ethics clearance system. The successful development of NREIMS was coordinated by NIMR Principal Research Officer and Co-PI of the EDCTP sponsored project known as the Consortium for Clinical Research Regulation and Ethics Capacity in the Eastern Africa Region (CCRREEA), Dr. Mwanaidi Kafuye. Dr. Kafuye said, NREIMS will harmonize health research ethics clearance processes across IRBs in Tanzania and improve quality and turnaround time of research approvals. She added that the system will enhance real-time data sharing between IRBs and NIMR and related health research regulatory stakeholders in Tanzania.The Training took place at NIMR headquarters and brought together NatHREC Secretariat, representatives from Tanzania Commission for Science and Technology (COSTECH), IRBs from participating Institutions based in Dar es Salaam.

The National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR) in collaboration with the Kilimanjaro Clinical Research Institute (KCRI) on 13th June 2024 launched the GREAT-LIFE (Linking Infectious Disease Front-liners’ Control Efforts with Central Public Health Authorities in the African Great Lakes Region) Project in Kigoma region which will strengthen the country capacity to combat antimicrobial resistance (AMR), early detection and timely response against the threats of infectious pathogens of epidemic potential. The launching event was graced by Hon. CGF (rtd) Thobias Andengenye, the Regional Commissioner for Kigoma. In his opening remarks, Hon. Andengenye said that the project has come at an opportune time when the risk and threats of infectious disease outbreaks are on the increase. He was glad to note that the project will improve clinical care of patients, enhance early detection of pathogens of epidemic potential through genomic surveillance and address challenges related to an ever-increasing AMR in the cross-border ecosystem, which is driven by several factors including irrational use of antibiotics and self-medication practices.In his welcoming remarks, the Director General of NIMR, Prof. Said Aboud assured the delegates that the institute in collaboration with the KCRI and other project partners will ensure that the GREAT-LIFE project implementation in Kigoma is a success. The Kigoma region will be a model for other regions in the country to learn on how integration of genomics in the routine healthcare service is an important tool for infectious diseases surveillance and case management. Further, Prof. Aboud said the project will ensure that the required skills particularly on applying genomics in improving clinical care and supporting the efforts to fight AMR in the region are acquired and applied by the front-liner healthcare service providers. Additionally, Dr. Tolbert Sonda, a genomic and bioinformatic specialist from KCRI, highlighted the strategic decentralization of the Nanopore Sequencing technology in strengthening laboratory capacities for detecting AMR and pathogens of epidemic potential in the cross-border ecosystem. The event took place at Sunset Vista Hotel in Kigoma region. It brought together delegates from the Ministry of Health, Regional Medical Officer, Regional Laboratory Coordinator, Regional Coordinator for Epidemiology & Surveillance, District Medical Officers, District Laboratory Coordinators, the incharge of Nyarugusu Health Centre from Nyarugusu Refugees Camp and delegates from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Kasulu offices.

The National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR) on 14th June, 2024 conducted user acceptance test (UAT) workshop to test validity of the National Research Ethics Information Management System (NREIMS) as a tool for the online health research protocol review and approval at both the National and Institutional levels of ethics clearance processes in one portal.In his opening remarks, on behalf of NIMR Director General, the Director of Research Coordination and Promotion, Dr Nyanda Elias Ntinginya, said NREIMS is one of the hallmark achievements of NIMR and all stakeholders of health research regulation in Tanzania. Additionally, Dr. Ntinginya emphasized that during the workshop participants should be able to navigate throughout the system and learn the functionalities of this multi-IRB health research clearance system hence the name National Research Ethics Information Management System. Further, he urged participants to be keen during the workshop to learn, validate and identify challenges if any so that they can be fixed immediately before the acceptance of the system.Furthermore, NIMR Principal Research Officer and Co-PI of the EDCTP funded project namely the Consortium for Clinical Research and Ethics Capacity in the Eastern Africa Region (CCRREEA), Dr. Mwanaidi Kafuye, said that NREIMS is the main deliverables of the CCRREEA project in Tanzania.The workshop took place at NIMR headquarters. The workshop brought together NatHREC Secretariat that included administrators, reviewers, researchers, ICT personnel and management for purpose of testing the validity of the system

Staff of the National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR) on 3rd June 2024 congratulated NIMR Director General, Professor Said Aboud, for receiving two consecutive prestigious awards namely 𝟭𝟬𝟬 𝗔𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮 𝗠𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗜𝗻𝗳𝗹𝘂𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗔𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟰 on 30th May 2024 in Harare, Zimbabwe and 𝗣𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗛𝗶𝗴𝗵-𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗙𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗝𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗔𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱 on 31st May 2024 in Tanga, Tanzania.We are incredibly proud of Professor Said Aboud for his remarkable achievements and for elevating NIMR’s reputation both nationally and internationally, his commitment and leadership are truly inspiring.Join us in celebrating Professor Aboud! We are honored to have such a capable and distinguished leader.

NIMR family, extends our heartfelt congratulations to our Director General, Professor Said S. Aboud, for being recognized as one of the 100 Most Influential Persons in Africa.Your dedication, leadership, and groundbreaking contributions to Medical Research have not only transformed the landscape of healthcare but also inspired countless individuals across the continent and beyond.Thank you for your visionary leadership and tireless efforts in advancing the frontiers of medical knowledge. Your achievements bring immense pride to NIMR and serve as a beacon of inspiration for us all.Here is to celebrating your well-deserved success and the remarkable impact you continue to make on the world stage.This award has been conferred yesterday, 30th May 2024, at the Cresta Lodge Hotel in Harare, Zimbabwe organized by the Business Executive in collaboration with International Business Council Africa and African Chamber for Trade (ACT).

The National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR) hosted the United States congressional staff delegation on 28th May 2024 to discuss collaboration opportunities and ways to strengthen partnership to address public health challenges in Tanzania. The meeting signifies a significant opportunity to enhance collaborative efforts in combating public health challenges and improving health outcomes in Tanzania.During the meeting, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health Dr. John Jingu, expressed gratitude to the U.S. Government for their support to the Government of Tanzania on health matters through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), both directly to the government and through implementing partners. Dr. Jingu highlighted that financial and mentorship support through ongoing programs is crucial in addressing health matters and response to pandemic diseases in Tanzania and neighboring countries. NIMR Director General Prof. Said Aboud thanked the support extended by CDC to NIMR and commented to strengthen further the longstanding collaboration between the two institutions.Furthermore, the meeting was graced by the presence of US House of Representatives, members of the US Senate from Washington DC, officials from CDC, the US Embassy and delegates from the Ministry of Health.The visit of US Congressional staff delegation, which began on 27th May 2024, will span five days from Mwanza region to Zanzibar, sponsored by the U.S. Government is aimed to observe and understand the impact of U.S. global health support through CDC in the country.