History

IMRAT is a directorate of the University of Ilorin. Its establishment, structures and operations were approved by the University Senate and endorsed by the University Council in 2021. IMRAT exist to make remarkable contributions to the growth and development of University of Ilorin, the Ilorin Community, the People of Kwara State and Nigeria in general.
IMRAT also exists to build linkages with other institutions locally and globally and foster networks that will add value to the achievement of her objectives. IMRAT brings together the best brains from all walks of life within global best practices for best results. We build human capacity and develop human capital for our nation and other nations of the world. We also develop appropriate solutions to human problems through cutting-edge Research and Training that is locally relevant and globally impacting.

STATE OF MEDICAL RESEARCH IN NIGERIA

Over the years, Medical Faculties in the Country have conducted several clinical and basic sciences research in an effort to find solutions to health challenges affecting Nigerians. They have therefore actively contributed to knowledge in the ever increasing field of Medical Science. However, as it is with many other developmental issues in Nigeria, there has been an increasing gap between research outputs from Nigeria and the developed nations of the world. For instance a search of the PubMed online database using the country names as keyword for publications within the last 5-years as at January 2021 revealed the following number of publications; Ghana-8,331, Kenya-11,747, Nigeria-18,533, Egypt-43,443, and South Africa-51,311. In the same search the United Kingdom returned a figure of 239,222 and America, 325,723 publications. Furthermore, when medical journals published in Nigeria were subjected to the “rule of evidence” which is designed to grade clinical and research findings according to strength, about 45% of the publications assessed from local journals were classified as non-evidence over a two year period 2005-2006[1]. There was no publication classified as having level I evidence among the Nigerian journals assessed, while only 11% of the published articles were rated to have level II to III evidence. Some of the key factors responsible for the low quality of evidence in many Nigerian medical literature and medical publications in the country include poor research facilities, inadequate funding and low capacity for the conduct of studies using some contemporary tools.