The University of Lagos was established in 1962 and has The Medical Campus, which is the College of Medicine, and the Main Campus that hosts the Faculties of Science, Engineering, Law, Management Sciences, Social Sciences, Education, Pharmacy, Architecture & Building and Arts.The College of Medicine of the University of Lagos (CMUL) was established by an act of parliament on the 13th of April 1962. The College of Medicine is made up of the School of Basic Medical Sciences, Clinical Sciences, the School of Dental Sciences and the Institute of Child Health. Headed by a Provost, the CMUL is involved in three pivotal activities namely: teaching, research and service. The training of doctors and other allied health professions is the major teaching component and has recorded tremendous success with the availability of high level manpower. The same applies for research and services, which are anchored on a strong interdisciplinary interaction and collaboration within the College and her sister institution, The Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), a tertiary health facility. The major goal of the institution’s research plan is to undertake high quality research toward disease prevention and control.

The general structure of the curriculum of the CMUL in the training programme are to demonstrate the knowledge of: the normal structure, function, development and growth of the human body, mind and society; the disorders of structure, function development and growth of the human body, mind and society that occur as a result of ill-health; and appropriate measures (promotive, preventive and curative) that can be used to identify and solve problems of individuals, families and communities.

The CMUL has a total staff strength of 1,850 that cuts across 32 departments in the Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences (Medical Physics, Biochemistry, Physiology, Pharmacology, Morbid Anatomy and Medical Microbiology & Parasitology) and Faculty of Dental Sciences and Faculty of Clinical Sciences (Surgery, Community Health, Paedtiatrics, Hematology & Blood Transfusion, Clinical Pathology, Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Internal Medicine, Psychiatry, and Ophthalmology). The CMUL that has produced over 6,000 graduates in disciplines of Medicine, Dentistry, Microbiology, Physiotherapy, Physiology, Radiography and Pharmacology is made up of nationally and international recognized staffs that have distinguished themselves in their area of specialty.

The CMUL is currently involved in a wide range of research including those on HIV/AIDS (PEPFER -Presidential Emergency Programme for Emergency Research, APIN/Harvard PLUS, Cellulose Sulfate Microbiscide Trial, Clinical trials on antimalaria medicines and Diagnostics (WHO/TDR), malaria immunology and molecular biology, Pharmaceutical Chemistry with emphasis on antimalaria drug development, Multidrug resistant Tuberculosis, Lassa Fever etc and has a Central Research Laboratory (CRC) that is designed to serve as the ‘hob’ of all high quality research. There are other spaces being created for specific projects when they are available in the future.
The CMUL is successfully managing huge research projects using a transparent and able accounting system. Also in place is a Research Ethics Committee, with Federal wide certification, that approves all research.

Some Ongoing Collaborations: Malaria Specimen Bank Site for Malaria Quality Assurance (WHO/TDR with other partners such as CDC, Atlanta; Hospital for Tropical Diseases [HTD], UK; Australia Army Malaria Institute, Australia etc), Malaria Rapid Diagnostic Tests Evaluation and Implementation of Quality Assurance for National Malaria Control Programme (Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics, FIND, Geneva), Microbiscide (Family Health International, USA) PEPFER, Harvard/APINS, Lassa fever (Volkswagen Stifung Foundation, Germany) etc. A new collaboration with the German Science Foundation was initiated 2 months ago.

Over 21,000 students at the Undergraduate and Postgraduate levels are enrolled in The University of Lagos. The University has an optic fibre connection between the Main Campus and the Medical Campus that provides internet and support web-based lectures. There are internet connectivity in all the offices and laboratories. Undergrdauate, Master’s and doctoral candidates are enrolled and graduated yearly.

The International Malaria Microscopy Center provides Certificate Course on Malaria Microsopy in the last 4 years. A detailed curriculum and course schedule is attached. The capacity for reliable and accurate diagnosis of malaria is low and with the implementation of the parasite-based diagnosis policy for the confirmation of malaria, there is need to not only build capacity but it is imperative to establish a quality assurance system. Therefore, in collaboration with the Global Fund for Malaria/The national Malaria Control Programme/Society for Family Health the CMUL built capacity of Malaria Microscopists in 18 Southern States of Nigeria in 2010 and developed a schematic framework for Malaria Microscopy Quality Assurance as a post-training recommendation.