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Sun, 31 Oct 2021 Interview

'Africa needs brain awareness'

By Martin-Luther C. King
Prof Amadi Ihunwo, Secretary-General of SONA Prof Amadi Ihunwo, Secretary-General of SONA

Governments in Africa and their agencies, as well as corporate entities including media across Africa need to assist in creating awareness about neurological diseases on the continent, secretary-general of the Society of Neuroscientists of Africa, SONA, Professor Amadi Ihunwo, tells MARTIN-LUTHER C. KING on the sidelines of the 15th biennial SONA conference in Accra, Ghana. He advocates more funding for research in neuroscience and therapeutic intervention in neurological diseases and mental illness by governments across the continent. Excerpts:

Q: Kindly tell us what SONA is all about; and, the objective of this conference, and at this time?

A: SONA is a non-profit organisation registered in Nairobi, Kenya in 1993. SONA functions as the umbrella organisation for the regional and national neuroscience societies and groups in Africa. SONA is also an affiliate of the International Brain Research Organization (IBRO). The Mandate of SONA ‘To promote research, teaching and advocacy in Neuroscience in Africa and hold an international conference every two years.

Although this conference was initially slated for April, it was rescheduled to October 2021 to allow for both in-person and virtual participants.

Q: Why the choice of Accra as the conference venue this year?

A: The Ghana Neuroscience Society (GNS) secured the hosting right at the 4th SONA Conference at the General Assembly of SONA in Lagos Nigeria in 2019.

Q: The theme 'Neurological disease in contemporary Africa'. But how aware are the ordinary people in contemporary Africa of neurological disease? How can governments and corporate entities, including the media, across Africa give greater support to research into, and the teaching of, neurological diseases on the continent? And how can SONA create more public awareness of neuroscience among the youth in Africa?

A: It is because these neurological diseases in Africa have not been given the required attention on the continent that the conference was designated with this topic.

National Governments and their Agencies, Corporate entities including Media across Africa are welcome to assist in creating first the knowledge base for our citizens on the workings of the brain, especially that it is not a structure that we see with the naked eyes at the butchery like the liver, kidney, etcetera, fund research in Neuroscience and therapeutic intervention in Neurological diseases and Mental illness.

SONA encourages Brain Awareness Activities which are driven by the Youth. As a matter of fact, our desire is that the knowledge of the brain must start from the primary school level and ascend. We would like to see information on how the brain works being translated into local languages.

Our conferences do also have an objective of engaging Government and other other stake holder, hence we do have an IBRO Global Engagement Event in this Conference directed at“Drug Addiction: Comparing National Responses in African Countries”. Within this context we will like to have several stakeholders engaging Neuroscientists in their respective countries on Mental Health Wellness

Q: What do you expect to change in the neuroscience narrative in Africa after this conference?

A: To continue advocacy on Mental Wellness through providing information on the brain in health and disease and draw attention to the need for continuing teaching and funding research in Neurosciences. We envisage more Organizations committing to funding Brain related Initiatives on the African continent through funding research, capacity building with equipping designated Neuroscience Laboratories.

Q: Kindly tell us who Professor Amadi Ihunwo is? Tell us about yourself?

A: Professor Amadi Ihunwo is a Nigerian but resident in South Africa. I am a Professor of Anatomy and a Neuroscientist at the School of Anatomical Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg South Africa. My research area is on Comparative Adult Neurogenesis and Gliogenesis looking at the generation of new cells in the adult brain in mammalian and avian species and the factors that affect the process at different life stages. My tenure as the Secretary-General of the Society will be ending this year (2017-2021). I am a Councillor, Representing Africa on the Council of the International Society for Neurochemistry (ISN).

Martin-Luther C. King
Martin-Luther C. King, © 2021

Media management and business development expert, communications strategist, veteran international journalist, regional integration campaigner and West Africa specialist. . More Martin-Luther C. King is an international journalist and entrepreneur; President/Lead Campaigner of Journalists for Regional Integration (JORIN), West Africa’s premier network of pro-integration journalists across the sub region; former general manager of Ghana Business & Finance Magazine, Ghana's premier business newsfeature; founding chief operating officer and managing editor of Integrity Magazine, Ghana's first glossy news publication on leadership and governance; Contributing Editor of Yahoo!News, Sunnyvale, California-USA; ace conference and events management expert, and consultant to several businesses.

An ace publicist, veteran international correspondent, communications specialist and media management expert, Martin also doubles as the Regional Editor (West Africa) of AfricaToday magazine, London-UK; is an honorary West African news specialist/analyst for the BBC World Service; and was Regional Peer Reviewer covering Cameroon, Cape Verde, Madagascar and Mauritius in Global Integrity’s African Integrity Indicators 2012, a research project on anti-corruption and governance mechanisms in over 50 African countries.
Global Integrity is a non-governmental organization based in Washington DC, USA and Cape Town, South Africa dedicated to research on governance around the world.

Martin’s career trajectory also spans several regional news publications across West Africa.

In Nigeria, Martin helped pioneer many of that country’s prominent domestic daily newspapers, including The Post Express, The Anchor, and Thisday. At The Post Express, he originated and sustained one of the longest-running columns/interview series on diplomacy ever on any Nigerian newspaper called Diplomatic Bytes.
The Post Express, part collaboration with The New York Times, is Nigeria’s first daily paper on the internet.

In Ghana, Martin is a columnist with the premier online publications, Ghanaweb.com and ModernGhana.com; he is also a regular contributor to several Ghanaian dailies, including Ghana’s most-widely read paper, Daily Graphic.

A hard-nosed newsman, Martin has covered several major international assignments, including the 1996 United States elections; Liberia’s 2005 Transition Elections that brought Mrs. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf to power; Ghana’s 50th anniversary celebrations in 2007; the January 2009 inauguration of Ghana’s President John Evans Attah Mills; and, interviewed many political and military leaders, including President John Kufuor of Ghana; the two immediate past presidents of the ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) Commission, Dr. Ibn Chambas and Mr. Victor Gbeho; as well as the former Force Commander of the UN-AU Force for Sudan General Martin Luther Agwai, among others.

Martin has also been part of several ECOWAS Election Observer Missions to countries across West Africa, including Ghana’s 2008 elections.

A specialist in managing successful political campaigns and transitions, Martin has consulted for several political leaders seeking elective offices across West Africa.

Martin is an alumnus of the International Institute of Journalism (IIJ) in Berlin, Germany and Abia State University, Uturu-Nigeria, from where he has a postgraduate diploma in journalism and a bachelor’s degree in English and Literary Studies, respectively.

He has also attended several conferences, workshops and seminars both inside and outside Africa.

A keen proponent of globalization, Martin, nevertheless, also firmly believes that globalization needs strong pillars of functional regional integration entities to be effective and beneficial to all players in the global economy including smaller and less developed countries

Martin is happily married with children.
Column: Martin-Luther C. King

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