The Institute of Child Health was established in 1961 from part of a grant given to the Federal Government of Nigerian by the United African Company (UAC) at independence. The aim of the Federal Government then was to establish centers in different parts of the country for the specific purpose of reducing the high incidence of morbidity and mortality among children in Nigeria. The Federal Ministry of Health and the Federal Ministry of Education (through the National
Universities Commission (NUC)) are jointly responsible for the upkeep of the Institute. The board of the institute is currently composed of the:
- Provost, College of Medicine, Dean, Faculty of Clinical Sciences,
- Dean, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences;
- Chief Medical Director, University College Hospital, Ibadan;
- Director, Institute of Child Health; the Head, Department of Paediatrics; Head, Department of Community Medicine;
- Representatives of the Federal Ministry of Health Representatives of the Oyo State Ministry of Health, and Secretary to the College of Medicine
Within the College of Medicine and the University, the Institute is affiliated with two faculties: Faculty of Clinical Sciences and Faculty of Public Health. The Institute is housed in its own building on the College of Medicine campus at the University College Hospital, Ibadan. The building has a clinic area, office space and laboratories. The clinic area is specifically set up for research rather than just service.
Over the years, the Institute of Child Health has tried to prosecute the main goals for which it was established which are: “to conduct research into medical, social and educational problems in the field of child health and to provide services in the area of primary health care, particularly of children and the health education of mothers” (College of Medicine Handbook 2002). The Institute has also kept an open door policy, readily making its facilities available to various departments of the University interested in the study of pediatric problems. Some of the departments that have taken advantage of this include, Human Nutrition, Psychiatry, Dentistry and Preventive and Social Medicine. The best known of the studies the Institute has undertaken is the longitudinal study of growth and development of children derived from different socio-economic groups in Ibadan, led by Dr. Margaret James.
Over the years, the Institute has evolved beyond the rather limited focus for which it was created over 40 years ago. Thus, the Institute as at today participates in research that spans the whole lifecycle, and not just “child health”. As one of only two research institutes in the College of Medicine, it is obvious that the Institute has to evolve and adapt even more to meet a number of present-day challenges, most of which did not exist (e.g. HIV) or were not priority health problems (e.g. non-communicable diseases such as hypertension) in 1961.
The overall goal of the ICH is to build institutional capacity to conduct high-quality research that links clinical practice, policy and public health in child health and related issues in tropical countries of the developing world. This would be done by accomplishing a set of specific objectives that would combine research and training in the context of collaboration with other institutions.
Our objectives are to:
1. Provide both short- and long-term individual training at the diploma, masters and doctoral levels.
2. Develop group training activities for students, community health workers, field and laboratory staff.
3. Improve the facilities and infrastructure to support research in malaria and other infectious diseases in the institution.
4. Enhance existing and build new collaborations with both Northern Partners and Southern partners to support research and training objectives.
5. Integrate students and staff trained into the Institute as Associate Research Fellows and full Research Fellows as we grow and develop.