NINE Tanzanian upcoming researchers have won an opportunity to conduct research on cancer in the country.
The young researchers are from Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Science (MUHAS), Ocean Road Cancer Institute (ORCI), Aga Khan University (AKU) and Muhimbili National Hospital (MNH).
The winners would be funded through the ‘Beat Cancer’ research initiative which is run by the Tanzania Comprehensive Cancer Project (TCCP) in collaboration with the Aga khan Hospital.
‘Beat Cancer’ research initiative provides funding to researchers who desire to get innovative, contextualized and evidence-based solutions that will bring comprehensive cancer services closer to the people.
Speaking on Tuesday during the award-giving ceremony, Director General of the National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR), Prof Yunus Mgaya urged the winners to focus on truth and accuracy when conducting their studies.
“There are three common mistakes in doing research that you have to avoid, including plagiarism, cooking data and falsification of data,” Prof Mgaya stressed.
He further counseled the awardees to be patriotic since findings of their studies will be applied by Tanzanians.
Prof Mgaya unveiled that before getting the winners, the TCCP secretariat received 44 proposals, whereby 42 proposals qualified during the first round and were forwarded to three experts for independent reviewing.
He also applauded the project team for the hard work and commitment.
He added that the TCCP is expected to inform policy makers and strategic planners on cancer control in the country.
“I urge stakeholders to use the envisaged findings in planning, policy making and resource allocation for Cancer Care in the country,” he stated.
For his part, Chief Executive Officer of the Aga Khan Health Service Tanzania (AKHST), Mr Sisawo Konteh, noted that the TCCP is a Euro 13.3 million project funded by Agence Française de Développement (AFD) and Aga Khan Foundation (AKF).
It is a four-year project implemented in the 5 districts of Dar es Salaam and 8 districts of Mwanza.
“This is evidence-based comprehensive initiative and aims to reduce the burden of cancer morbidity and mortality in two target regions (Dares Salaam and Mwanza). It is expected to directly impact 1.7 million people,” he said.
Speaking earlier, TCCP Project Manager, Dr Harrison Chuwa, noted that the initiative is in line with TCCP’s objectives, which includes developing a joint research agenda and partnerships.
