Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research

Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR) is a medical research institute located at the University of Ghana in Accra, Ghana.^[1] It was founded in 1979 with funds donated by the Japanese government.^[2]

Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research

A signpost for NMIMR
Established	1979
Director	Dorothy Yeboah-Manu
Location	University of Ghana , Legon , Ghana
Coordinates	5°38′03″N 0°11′00″W / 5.634208°N 0.183332°W / 5.634208; -0.183332
Website	www.noguchimedres.org

History

The Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research is a semi-autonomous institute of the University of Ghana located in the Ghanaian capital, Accra^[3][4]. It is the premiere biomedical research center in the country.

 

The entrance of NMIMR

The institute was established through combined efforts by the former dean of the University of Ghana school of medicine, Prof. E. O. Easmon, and Prof. Kenji Honda of Fukushima school of medicine in Japan, and therefore the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).^[5] It was built by the government of Japan and donated to the government and people of Ghana in honour of the Japanese researcher Hideyo Noguchi,^[6][7] who researched Yellow fever in Ghana and died from the disease in the country in 1928.^[8] Test samples for the COVID-19 pandemic in Ghana are performed and confirmed by the institute.^[9][10]

Training

In January 2021, the Institute undertook a five-week capacity building training in diseases for about 15 lab technicians who were from 9 countries in West Africa.^[11]

Awards and recognition

In November 2020, the institute was given a citation by the Association of Ghana Industries at the ninth edition of the Ghana Industry and Quality Awards. This was in recognition of their efforts in combating the COVID-19 pandemic in Ghana.^[12]

In February 2021, the institute was given LIS, which was supported by Healthcare Federation of Ghana in partnership with Medlab Ghana Services Limited and other institutions. The LIS was said to be used by the institute's technical staff.^[13]

References

1. University of Ghana: Noguchi Institute (NMIMR). January 7, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
2. University of Pennsylvania: Global Health Project March 12, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
3. "DevelopmentAid". DevelopmentAid. Retrieved 2023-10-22.
4. "Ghana". Global Health Equity Scholars Program. Retrieved 2023-10-22.
5. "University of Ghana, Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR) and JICA PAYS TRIBUTE TO PROF. KENJI HONDA | Ghana | Countries & Regions | JICA". www.jica.go.jp. Retrieved 2020-04-26.
6. "The Ghanaian government has renamed a street after a prominent Japanese scientist". www.pulse.com.gh. 2018-12-04. Retrieved 2020-04-26.
7. "Street named after Japan's Noguchi". www.ghanaweb.com. Retrieved 2020-04-26.
8. To, Wireless (May 22, 1928). "Dr. Noguchi is Dead, Martyr of Science. Bacteriologist of Rockefeller Institute Dies of Yellow Fever on Gold Coast. Japanese, Ranked With Pasteur and Metchnikoff, Found Carrier of Own Disease". New York Times. Retrieved 8 March 2022. Professor Hideyo Noguchi, bacteriologist of the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research, died here today from yellow fever, which ...
9. "Ghana records 7th confirmed Coronavirus case". Graphic Online. Retrieved 2020-03-17.
10. "Ghanaian Scientists Successfully Sequence SARS-COV-2 Virus Genomes". Trial Site News. 2020-04-15. Retrieved 2020-04-26.
11. "Noguchi builds capacity of laboratory technicians". Graphic Online. Retrieved 2021-01-14.
12. "Association of Ghana Industries honours 12 companies". Graphic Online. Retrieved 2020-11-26.
13. "Noguchi receives digital Laboratory Information System". Graphic Online. Retrieved 2021-02-17.