Research Portfolio

IFAIN's research programme spans funded multi-site studies, surveillance systems, and laboratory investigations — all generating locally grounded evidence with direct implications for Nigeria's infectious disease burden.

2Active Studies
5Completed Programmes
12+Nigerian States
70,000+Children Enrolled
● Active 2012-2018
Community-Acquired Pneumonia and Invasive Bacterial Diseases in Young Nigerian Children
Status● Active
FunderNIH(UNMC)
Duration2012-2018
Countries / SitesNIGERIA
Research AreaVaccine
Principal InvestigatorProfessor Stephen Obaro
● Active 2017-2019
MHEALTH
Status● Active
FunderNIH
Duration2017-2019
● Active

FLEMING FUND COUNTRY GRANT

Status● Active
● Active

GLOBAL GENOMIC AND PROTEOMIC PROFILING OF AFRICAN CHILDREN WITH TYPHOID FEVER

Status● Active
● Active 2025-2030
Background Rates of Adverse Events for Vaccine Evaluation in Africa (BRAVE)

The International Foundation Against Infectious Disease in Nigeria (IFAIN), in collaboration with the Global Vaccine Data Network (GVDN), has launched the Background Rates of Adverse Events for Vaccine Evaluation in Africa (BRAVE) project in Nigeria, with additional implementation in Ghana, Rwanda, and Kenya.

Officially kicked off at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital (ATBUTH) in Bauchi, the project aims to establish baseline incidence rates of key health conditions across four Nigerian sites—namely FMC OwoIrrua Specialist Teaching HospitalUniversity of Benin Teaching Hospital, and ATBUTH, which serves as the lead implementation hub.

Over a three-year core implementation period, the project will gather pre-vaccine data. This will be followed by an additional two years of surveillance, making a total span of five years . Data will be collected from patients admitted in pediatricsobstetrics & gynecology, and internal medicine departments, using a pre-defined list of priority conditions.

A key focus is to prepare for the rollout of Lassa fever vaccines, ensuring that once introduced, any deviations from baseline health data can be confidently assessed as vaccine‑related or incidental.

Beyond surveillance, BRAVE aims to strengthen Nigeria’s healthcare framework by building health worker capacity and improving data infrastructure—a strategic step toward advancing the country’s readiness for future vaccine and drug trials.

Status● Active
FunderGVDN
Duration2025-2030
Countries / SitesNigeria. Ghana. Kenya. Rwanda.
Research AreaVaccine
Principal InvestigatorProfessor Stephen Obaro
● Active 2021-2026
Combatting Antimicrobial Resistance in Africa Using Data Science

The CAMRA project is a comprehensive field-to-laboratory investigation of Nigerian and Rwandan children with serious bacterial infections (SBI). It aims to characterize the distribution and determinants of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) among Enterobacterales and the diseases they cause by prospectively enrolling hospitalized newborns, infants, and children with severe bacterial infection syndromes.

Project Objectives:

  • Analyze the phenotypic and genotypic profiles of Enterobacterales isolates from Nigeria and Rwanda.
     
  • Correlate multidrug-resistant organism (MDRO) status with the clinical course and outcomes of infected patients.
     
  • Determine household reservoirs of MDROs.

Status● Active
FunderNIH
Duration2021-2026
Countries / SitesNigeria, Rwanda
Research AreaGenomics. AMR.
Principal InvestigatorProfessor Christian Happi. Professor Stephen Obaro
● Active 2012-2018
Community-Acquired Bacteremic Syndromes in Young Nigerian Children
Status● Active
FunderNIH
Duration2012-2018
Countries / SitesNIGERIA
Research AreaBACTEREMIA
Principal InvestigatorProfessor Stephen Obaro
CompletedNIH(UNMC)

Community-Acquired Pneumonia and Invasive Bacterial Diseases in Young Nigerian Children

NIH(UNMC)
CompletedNIH

MHEALTH

NIH
Completed

FLEMING FUND COUNTRY GRANT

Completed

GLOBAL GENOMIC AND PROTEOMIC PROFILING OF AFRICAN CHILDREN WITH TYPHOID FEVER

CompletedNIH

Community-Acquired Bacteremic Syndromes in Young Nigerian Children

NIH

Interested in Collaborating?

IFAIN welcomes enquiries about research partnerships, co-investigator arrangements, and data access.