UNICEF, UNILAG Launch Behavioural Research Lab to Tackle Child Development Challenges

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has unveiled Nigeria’s first Behavioural Insights Research and Design Laboratory (BIRD-Lab) at the University of Lagos, designed to improve child survival and development through behavioural research.

The facility, inaugurated on Friday at UNILAG’s College of Medicine, is the first in Nigeria and only the second in Africa. It will serve as a hub for evidence-based solutions to health, education, and social challenges by examining the factors that influence human behaviour. Nineteen Nigerian universities are already part of the consortium.

Speaking at the launch, UNICEF’s Country Representative, Wafaa Saeed, said the initiative would transform how child-focused programmes are designed. “Everything UNICEF does begins and ends with children. This is not about importing solutions but about co-creating culturally relevant approaches that belong to Nigeria,” she said.

UNILAG’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Afolabi Lesi, who represented Vice-Chancellor Folasade Ogunsola, highlighted the university’s capacity to support the project. “We are not just looking at behaviour from a medical point of view. It involves sociologists, community physicians, and partners. With collaboration at its core, there’s no doubt this project will succeed,” he noted.

The laboratory will also support policy formulation. UNICEF’s Chief of Social Behaviour Change, Kshitij Joshi, explained that student-led research would be converted into policy briefs for government adoption. “The Federal Ministry of Health has dedicated space for integrating BIRD-Lab findings into national policies,” he added.

Prof. Ademola Oremosu, Provost of UNILAG’s College of Medicine, said the lab would measure its impact through reduced maternal and infant mortality, improved child survival, and better immunisation coverage.

UNICEF’s Deputy Nigeria Representative, Rownak Khan, described the collaboration as a step toward equity.

“I hope the lab becomes a strong vehicle for helping us focus deliberately on the most underserved and excluded groups so that no child is left behind,” she said.