Vaccine Direct Delivery (VDD) in Sokoto captures the essence of efficient vaccine distribution. VDD ensures the seamless transfer of vaccines and dry commodities from the state cold store to ward-level health facilities. This image highlights the precision and dedication of VDD’s logistics, emphasizing its critical role in enhancing healthcare delivery.
Public health emergencies rarely fail because of a lack of intent. They fail because systems designed for routine service delivery are suddenly pushed beyond their limits. When outbreaks occur or large-scale vaccination campaigns are rolled out under pressure, gaps in data, planning, and coordination become visible and as expected, the most vulnerable communities often feel the greatest impact.
Emergency preparedness, therefore, is not only about rapid response. It is about whether systems are already equipped to absorb shock, adapt quickly, and deliver at scale. In many African nations, emergency health responses rely on planning methods built on rough population estimates, static maps, and assumptions that no longer reflect on-the-ground realities. In densely populated, highly mobile urban environments, these limitations can translate into missed households, uneven workload distribution, and delayed corrective action.
Preparedness means moving from reactive planning to systems that allow governments and partners to see, plan, and act clearly before pressure peaks
What Public Health Emergency Preparedness Looks Like in Practice
As Lagos State implements the Measles–Rubella Vaccination Campaign for children aged 9 months to 14 years, eHealth Africa, working with UNICEF Nigeria supported to strengthen the planning backbone that underpins emergency delivery, ensuring everyone is reached regardless of location and socioeconomic status. Through PlanFeld, eHealth Africa’s digital microplanning solution, four Local Government Areas were supported to transition from estimate-based planning to microplans built on real population data, local settlement patterns, and frontline realities. Health workers were trained not just to use a tool, but to rethink how planning decisions are made, tested, and adjusted. This approach reflects a core preparedness principle: clarity before crisis.
Rethinking Emergency Preparedness with Emergency Operations Centers
The future of public health emergency preparedness will not be defined solely by how quickly vaccines are procured or funds are released. It will be shaped by whether health systems can plan with accuracy, adapt in real time, and translate data into timely, informed decisions that empower those closest to the communities they serve. At the heart of this capability are the Emergency Operations Centers (EOCs).
Preparedness is not a moment of reaction; it is a continuous investment in systems that can anticipate risk, coordinate stakeholders, and respond with precision.
EOCs serve as the nerve centers of emergency preparedness and management, spaces where data from multiple sources converges to guide action. With 12 functional EOCs across Nigeria, there is a growing opportunity to institutionalize data-driven decision-making. Information from geospatial tracking systems, compliance monitoring, missed settlements, vaccination coverage gaps, and field-level activity reports generated by various health players and stakeholders can be consolidated, visualized, and analyzed in near real time.
When structured effectively, this intelligence enables rapid course correction, equitable resource allocation, and stronger accountability across response efforts. EOCs transform fragmented data into operational clarity. They help leaders identify where teams are overstretched, where communities are underserved, and where additional support is required before gaps widen into crises.
Preparedness, therefore, is not only about stockpiles and surge financing. It is about building decision-ready systems that function before, during, and after emergencies. When EOCs are empowered with accurate, actionable data, responses become faster, smarter, and more inclusive, ensuring that no community is left behind.
