Author: Moshood Isah

Moshood Isah

“What can be better? This tool will automate everything;Microplan and Daily implementation Plans for the state during campaigns” – Incident Manager, Katsina State Emergency Operation Center, Kabir Suleiman.

Six Months ago, eHealth Africa conducted a User Acceptance Testing (UAT) for PlanFeld; a digital microplanning tool with Public Health partners and major stakeholders from National and state Emergency Operations Centers (NEOC) in Nigeria.  Thus UAT provided a blueprint for  a paradigm shift from manual to digital microplanning for vaccination campaigns across Nigeria

The  powerful demo session revealed how PlanFeld saves time, promotes accuracy and boosts vaccination reach across Communities. This was preceded by feedback to the pilot conducted in Kebbi state showing that the percentage of missed settlements dropped from 19% to 8%, and later to 6% of the targeted population.  This not just secured the endorsement of key stakeholders but led to calls to further expand its deployment across the country. 

It became pertinent to decentralise and expand the deployment of the digital tool across more states especially in Northern Nigeria. With support and backing from the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHCDA) and National Emergency Operation Center, eHealth Africa team led a comprehensive rollout plan, engaging State stakeholders on the strategies and processes required for effective deployment of the PlanFeld application.

Led by eHealth Africa’s Program Manager on Disease Prevention and Monitoring, Abubakar Shehu, the team engaged State Commissioners of Health, Executive and Permanent  Secretaries and key personnel in State Ministries of health.  During the engagement across Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Niger, Sokoto, and Zamfara, Abubakar reiterated that, deployment of PlanFeld for microplanning aligns with eHealth Africa’s vision of reaching underserved communities with healthcare using user-friendly and human-centered tools. 

He said, “the success of PlanFeld in Kebbi state Outbreak Response (OBR 4) is a springboard that spurs the organization to further decentralise the engagement to other states especially in northern Nigeria”.  Abubakar commended eHealth Africa’s State and LGA coordinators across the implementing states for their continuous commitment towards achieving about 100% Master List of Settlement (MLoS) with accurate geocoordinates despite the enormous huddles. 

Having been deployed in the state during the pilot, the then Honourable Commissioner of Health in Kebbi state, Alhaji Yakubu Bala Tafida expressed enthusiasm about the innovation, commending the team for selecting Kebbi State as a pilot location. He also emphasized the importance of leveraging technology and innovation to address public health challenges while  encouraging eHealth Africa to continue exploring and deploying solutions that add value to the health system, both at the State and National levels.

The feedback in Sokoto state was similar to that of Kebbi State. The  Commissioner of Health, Dr. Faruk Umar Abubakar Wurno, lauded eHealth Africa for leading the drive for the transition from manual to digital microplaning . He said, “the ongoing shift away from manual processes, the introduction of digital solutions such as PlanFeld is both timely and commendable”.

Represented by the ministry’s Permanent Secretary the Commissioner of Health, Niger state said, the  laudable efforts will be presented to the Executive governor  as he is highly interested in technological advancements which would enhance the state’s health sector as well as other non health interventions. In the words of the Permanent Secretary “I am excited hearing about digitization since the world is going towards that direction, hence my choice of pulling out from a meeting at the government house to receive your team.The future is promising and assured with tools like PlanFeld”. 

Beyond endorsement of a novel digital solution that has been tested, important  gatekeepers in the public health space have consistently committed to providing an enabling environment to enable digital solutions to thrive. This is evident in the words of the Health Commissioner in Kano state, Dr Abubakar Labaran Yusuf when he said “We are ready to roll out in Kano state so we are expecting our Microplans and Daily Implementation Plans as quickly as possible”.

In Katsina state, not just the public health stakeholders support the deployment of digital micro planning tools in their states but security agencies also pledged to continue protecting vaccinators especially in security-compromised locations. The Area Commander of Funtua Assistant Commissioner of Police ACP Musa Hamza Yusufari acknowledged the importance of reaching communities with the right medical supplies irrespective of location.  He said, “It is our responsibility to protect everyone within the community; asides that, we are direct beneficiaries of your interventions so we will not relent in providing all the necessary support especially to you and your team”.

During the feedback sessions Director of Partnerships and Programs, Ota Akhigbe, commended the team for their role in ensuring Planfeld became a household name in the digital health space. She said the tool has the potential of achieving a lot even beyond polio campaigns to general routine immunization interventions.

The outcome of these engagements across these 8 states is already visible. The transition to the utilization of digital microplanning for vaccination campaigns has kicked off in earnest. eHealth Africa with support from Gates Foundation and NPHCDA have successfully rolled out PlanFeld for the ongoing vaccination campaign in Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Niger, Sokoto, and Zamfara. 

The early impression is the effective allocation of workload to various vaccination teams based on their target population. This goes a long way in boosting workload optimization thereby ensuring vaccinators and health personnel reach every assigned child without being over stretched.  And just as the Commissioner of Health in Kano state said ahead of the roll out, “‘We will be expecting the outcome of digitized Microplans in the coming rounds of campaigns’-Kano state HC of Health”. 

Looking forward to 2026, collaboration with the NEOC and NPHCDA strengthened remains critical policymaker buy-in, while early engagement with the State created a strong foundation for adopting and using the digitized microplan. With existing evidence-backed use cases,  the scalability of PlanFeld solution increases stakeholder willingness to transition from paper-based to digital microplanning.

As states continue to embrace digital microplanning, PlanFeld is positioned to play an even greater role in strengthening vaccination systems across Nigeria. With growing stakeholder confidence, expanding partnerships, and a clear pathway for scale, the momentum toward a fully digitized, more efficient, and more equitable immunization landscape is stronger than ever. 

By Moshood Isah

Low- and middle-income countries have consistently struggled to meet blood donation requirements compared to their high-income counterparts. While high-income nations meet most of their blood needs through voluntary donation, Africa continues to face severe shortages, with only about five percent of its population donating blood. Maternal mortality remains devastatingly high, with the continent accounting for nearly 70 percent of global maternal deaths.

Earlier this year, in June, World Blood Donor Day was commemorated across the globe. This important day raises awareness about the need for safe blood and blood products, while also celebrating voluntary, unpaid donors for their life-saving contributions. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), a blood service that provides patients with safe blood and blood products in sufficient quantities is a key component of an effective health system.

This understanding informed the partnership between eHealth Africa, Sirat Al-Mustaqeem, and Bayero University Kano to host a major blood donation drive. The event not only raised awareness about the lifesaving importance of blood donation but also introduced participants to a digital blood information system designed to make the entire process seamless and efficient.

During the blood donation drive at Bayero University Kano, eHealth Africa deployed its mobile, user-friendly digital application that allows individuals to easily schedule blood donation appointments at their convenience. The Blood Information System for Crisis Intervention and Management (BISKIT) App provides real-time access to available donation centers, dates, and time slots—empowering donors to plan ahead and integrate blood donation into their personal schedules.

BISKIT was seamlessly integrated into the donation process, managing donor registration digitally and ensuring a smooth, organized experience for all participants. This not only enhanced the donor journey but also demonstrated the vital role technology plays in strengthening healthcare systems. “People want to donate,” said Oscar Kalu, a Research Assistant at Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, where BISKIT is currently being piloted. “They just need a system that respects their time and gives them confidence. BISKIT does both.”

According to Oscar, BISKIT eliminates inconsistent paper records that are slow to retrieve, prone to delays, and at risk of loss. “This wasn’t just another awareness campaign; it was a digital shift in blood information management,” he said. With a few simple steps, donors could register, book appointments, access their digital donor card, and later track their donation history—an innovation he believes could finally close the dangerous gaps in Africa’s blood management system.

A supply chain management expert with eHealth Africa, Mohammed Faosy-Adeniran, reinforced this viewpoint, explaining that BISKIT was built to address preventable causes of death. “If a health facility cannot trace blood—from who donated it to who handled it—we cannot guarantee safety, and we cannot save lives,” he said.

He recalled mothers who died from postpartum hemorrhage because blood was unavailable, children with sickle cell disease whose crises became fatal due to delays, and accident victims who never received transfusions in time. Mohammed, who led the BISKIT pilot implementation with AKTH, believes that if every donated unit can be tracked, stored correctly, tested promptly, and delivered safely, the entire system becomes stronger.

With BISKIT, every donor, every test, every storage stage, and every transfusion is recorded digitally. Within seconds, a health worker can view the complete journey of a single blood unit. They can generate instant reports, track progress, and trace issues immediately. Most importantly, they can ensure the blood reaching a patient is safe, timely, and fully accounted for.

The potential to scale BISKIT across more primary healthcare facilities remains promising. According to Project Manager Darlington Okoye, the application has already transformed the blood services workflow by digitizing over 6,000 donor records in 2025 alone, ensuring data is accurate, accessible, and secure. BISKIT also certified 5,300 donors as fit to donate—significantly strengthening the safe donor pool. “More than 500 successful blood transfusions were tracked electronically, enabling faster emergency response through instant access to donor and recipient records,” Okoye added, noting that automated compatibility checks have drastically reduced the risk of mismatched transfusions.

BISKIT is more than an app. It is a revolution in how Africa approaches blood safety. It is a bridge between donors and the people whose lives depend on them. It is a digital lifeline that connects people, systems, and hope, proving that when technology and compassion work together, lives are not just touche, they are saved.

By Joyce Shinyi 

The world  recently commemorated  World GIS Day, a moment that always focuses our attention on the critical role of mapping technology in public health. Here at eHealth Africa (eHA), the conversation is powered by tangible results, specifically those from our successful Geospatial Tracking System (GTS) Initiative. This initiative is built on a clear and essential goal: to ensure that the health services promised to people actually reach them, regardless of where they live.

As our moderator Tijesu Ojumu perfectly framed the context in our recent discussion, “At first glance, when you think about World Polio Day and World GIS Day, they may seem different. But in reality, they are deeply connected by one powerful idea: Health Equity.” This is the human-centered mission the GTS Initiative delivers on.

From Static Maps to Strategic Solutions

Our Insights webinar, “Driving Health Equity with Geospatial Information Systems,” focused on how GIS has evolved from a simple mapping tool into a strategic planning system. Before GTS, health officials often relied on paper-based records and anecdotal reporting, which created large “grey areas” where vaccination coverage was uncertain or falsified, leaving many settlements unvisited for years.

As expert Busayo Fashoto outlined, the system helps us go beyond simply plotting locations by helping us understand “what is there?” and, more importantly, “why is that thing there?” This allows us to make communities visible to the planning systems that often overlook them. Expert Oro-ghene (Oros) Adia further described GIS as a sophisticated relationship tool that builds trust by supplying high-quality data to enhance transparency and accountability in resource allocation. Sa’adatu Ibrahim, Kano State Immunization Officer, summarized the change: “Before GTS, we had difficulties in identifying unvisited areas. After GTS, we could see things crystal clear, these are the areas that still need to be visited“.

The GTS Initiative: Actionable Results in Polio and Beyond

The GTS Initiative provided essential tracking support to the national effort to interrupt circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVPV2) transmission). Its clear mandate was to improve the geographical coverage of settlements, minimizing the number of missed communities.

Its impact from 2024 to 2025 demonstrates the effectiveness of this targeted approach. Between 2023 and 2025, the initiative contributed to vaccinating over 24.5 million children, while from April to November 2024 it supported activities across 120 Local Government Areas (LGAs), identifying 25,687 previously missed settlements and raising overall coverage from 88% to 90%. Momentum continued into 2025, with GTS tracking spanning 434 LGAs between April and June and achieving a 16% month-over-month coverage increase in June. During the Integrated Measles-Rubella campaign in October 2025, the system further strengthened accountability by recording verified visits in 144,518 settlements—93% of those planned; across 248 LGAs.

Overcoming Challenges and Building Local Capacity

In challenging regions like Northern Nigeria, achieving high coverage means overcoming insecurity, difficult terrain, and chronic network coverage gaps. The GTS Initiative institutionalized smart strategies to manage these constraints: GTS strengthened accountability by enabling real-time digital monitoring, which significantly improved field visibility and supported more responsive decision-making. Continuous validation of the Master List of Settlements (MLoS) ensured that planning data remained accurate, especially in rapidly expanding areas where new settlements can emerge within weeks; this ongoing updating process helped drive coverage improvements across states.

Equally important was the integration of localized expertise—the initiative found that involving local personnel had a positive impact, making the work easier, more accurate, and better aligned with on-the-ground realities. The GTS Initiative underscores a fundamental truth: the successful integration of technology, preparedness , and local capacity are non-negotiable for achieving high-coverage and accountability. For any organization scaling GIS solutions, the enduring lesson is to always start with the use case: the tangible, community-level problem rather than the technology itself.

Atef Fawaz

In the coming days, I will be attending the Global Digital Health Forum (GDHF) in Nairobi, Kenya. Exploring the lineup of activities ahead of the global public health event further widened my horizon on the networking and collaborative opportunities up for grabs.  With at least 792 abstract proposals received from over 450 organizations worldwide, the GDHF provides opportunities not just to spotlight key public health issues but to build strong collaborations that scale impact. 

While looking forward to insightful and potentially impactful sessions across various facets of public health, I am fascinated about the interconnectivity of digital health solutions and how it can spur social behavioral change amongst adolescents in Africa.   This is because Africa, as a continent, hosts the youngest population below the age of 18, with over 40% of its population under 15, making it the youngest continent.  UNICEF also corroborated this with its Generation  2030 Africa report, revealing that projections show that by 2050, the continent will account for 42 percent of all global births and almost 40 percent of all children under 18.

This informs eHealth Africa’s Breakfast Salon Session at the upcoming GDHF titled, “Digital Interfaces That Influence Health Behaviour Among Adolescents in Kenya and Beyond.”  This provides an opportunity to advance conversation and take bold steps on the equitable utilization of digital interfaces for health behavior change and referral to services among underserved communities in Kenya and beyond.  This dynamic session will include a youth-led segment where young people share their views, a live demo of the product from our partners, and an informal fireside chat with leaders in the field.

The conversion will no doubt spur action and behavioral change amongst adolescents. Indeed, it is pertinent to reach these demographics effectively in the right digital spaces. eHealth Africa, for instance, developed a digital tool based on the World Health Organization’s Checklists to Assess Vulnerabilities in health care facilities in the context of climate change.  The tool, Climate Health Vulnerability Assessment Tool (CHAT), is currently being used to assess and strengthen the climate resilience of healthcare facilities in Nigeria. Beyond converting over a 100-page document to a simple mobile user-friendly application, the CHAT tool is critical to helping PHCs to be resilient to climate change realities.  

This integration is currently being implemented by eHealth Africa across 238 PHCs in Nigeria with the potential to further scale. The idea of solarizing primary healthcare facilities not only promotes health equity and Universal Health Coverage. This is also among the urgent actions being taken to combat climate change and its impact, which directly addresses Sustainable Development Goal 13.  This is no doubt an interconnectivity that cannot be underestimated.

Similarly, the digitization of micro-planning for vaccination campaigns using digital innovation is also spurring behavioural change amongst public health personnel in Nigeria. Using PlanFeld; a web-based application designed to support field logistics for public health interventions, more children are reached with vaccines and other medical supplies.

I will no doubt be looking forward to eHealth Africa’s abstract presentations especially on how the interface of digital tools like CHAT and PlanFeld are spurring behavioral change and promoting health equity.  Also,  I am excited about the prospect of engaging with like-minded partners to explore ways of scaling these multifaceted solutions for the benefit of underserved populations. 

As the world prepares for the Global Digital Health Forum (GDHF) 2025, the future of global health depends not only on smart technologies but also on resilient systems capable of withstanding a rapidly changing climate. In this vein, the world cannot afford digital systems that fail when storms hit or power grids collapse. Neither can we build resilient health systems without leveraging the transformative power of digital innovation. The intersection of these agendas is where the most transformative impact lies.

As one of the few organizations leading the implementation of interventions that combine digital innovation, renewable energy, and climate-resilient strategies, eHealth Africa is developing human-centered solutions that advance health equity, integrate renewable energy into public health systems, and reduce vulnerability to climate change. Our participation in the upcoming GDHF 2025, therefore, reflects a strong demonstration of our institutional capacity, technical expertise, and commitment to driving transformative impact across multiple areas of public healthcare on the continent.

Atef Fawaz is the Executive Director of eHealth Africa. He is a Complex Operations Management and ICT expert with experience in Humanitarian Response and Digital Health

Azeez- Ayodele Fatimah Ayotemitide

Across many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), health systems face a confluence of systemic challenges. They are constantly shifting under the weight of policy instability, significant financing gaps, pervasive infrastructural deficits, and complex social pressures. In these contexts, resilience is not a luxury. It is the only way a system survives.

Resilience means designing systems built rooted in local ownership – not just to function today – but to endure and thrive amid uncertainty. These are systems that remain operational despite shrinking budgets, shifting priorities, or leadership transitions; that welcome innovation as fuel rather than falter under its weight; and that become more robust, adaptive, and impactful the more they are used.

The realities facing health systems in LMICs are not theoretical. They show up in efficient ways: Health facilities without stable power, critical services dependent on paper-based systems, data scattered across siloed platforms, staff turnover that erases institutional memory, digital tools that falter the moment donor funding ends, solutions designed for reporting – not for people, and infrastructure that cannot withstand policy changes or economic pressures.

When these weak points collide, the result is predictable: progress stalls, innovation slows, and entire communities feel the impact. This is why resilience matters. A resilient system can survive these pressures and continue delivering care consistently, reliably, and equitably.

Why the GDHF 2025 Theme Matters

As the global digital health community prepares for the 2025 Global Digital Health Forum (GDHF), the theme, “Advancing Digital Health Solutions in Low- and Middle-Income Countries”,  places resilience where it belongs: at the center of the conversation.

Digital health has enormous potential across LMICs, but only when the systems beneath it are strong. For instance, without stable power, reliable data, or community-level visibility, even the most advanced tools struggle to take root.

The GDHF is one of the few spaces where these realities are openly acknowledged, and LMIC voices shape the global conversation. The 2025 theme pushes us to think beyond innovation as a standalone objective and instead, focus on the environments where innovation must live.

As the executive director, Atef Fawaaz puts it, “Digital health only succeeds when the foundations beneath it are strong. GDHF gives us a space to show that resilience isn’t an abstract idea. It’s the power, data, and community structures we build every day to keep health systems moving.”

eHealth Africa’s work spans the interconnected layers of digital health. It goes beyond applications and dashboards to the foundations that make them viable: integrated data platforms, reliable operational systems, sustainable power for clinics, tools that empower health workers, and community-centered support structures. 

Together, they form the backbone of self-reliant health systems that don’t wait for permission, funding cycles, or external validation to deliver.  At GDHF 2025, eHealth Africa joins national ministries, African innovators, and committed global partners to contribute to this vision and help shape the future of digital health – led from within and built to last.

This year, eHealth Africa will co-host a private side session with Bay Area Global Health Alliance, REACH, and the Africa Hub for Innovation & Development, focusing on “Digital interfaces that influence health behaviour among adolescents in Kenya and beyond”.

The session will explore how youth-centered tools, including AI-powered avatars and digital personas, can strengthen engagement and improve health outcomes. It reflects the kind of collaboration required to build systems that evolve, respond, and improve over time.

Similarly, eHA will be spotlighting three impactful interventions/ solutions while exploring opportunities to build collaborations and strengthen partnerships to scale the impact of these interventions.

Solarization: Powering Reliability

Stable power is the backbone of digital health. Without it, cold-chain equipment fails, data cannot be entered or accessed, and facilities cannot deliver consistent service. eHealth Africa’s Solarization intervention provides sustainable energy to primary health centers, ensuring digital tools remain functional and essential services continue uninterrupted. 

This intervention is a practical demonstration of resilience in action. So far, we have achieved 50+ self-powered PHCs toward a target of 238, simultaneously saving facilities over 2.5 million naira in fuel and maintenance costs. Scaling this impact is critical, as every self-powered facility represents a secure anchor for digital health, bringing consistent, life-saving care to underserved communities and reinforcing a scalable, transformative model of system durability.

PlanFeld: Turning Data Into Action

Resilient health systems require real-time visibility. Planfeld enables operational teams to track field activities, manage logistics, coordinate emergency response, and make informed decisions using live data. 

A key highlight of its impact was in Kebbi State, where the tool was instrumental in developing 225 Ward-level Digitized Micro Plans for 21 Local Government Areas (LGAs), equipping over 2,950 teams with precise implementation schedules. Due to this success in strengthening planning and data utilization, the state government of Lagos subsequently invited eHealth Africa to deploy PlanFeld for microplanning across their system as well. It strengthens a system’s ability to adapt – one of the core functions of resilience.

CHAT: Community-Level Strength

This tool is integral to our work in climate adaptation. It was successfully piloted across 3 states and 30 Primary Health Centers (PHCs) in Nigeria. Building on this success, the next phase involves direct integration with DHIS2 and the addition of critical hazard areas, such as Heatwaves and Drought, into the assessment framework. By embedding comprehensive, data-driven routines and critical climate intelligence at the community level, CHAT ensures that system resilience is not merely confined to central planning or infrastructure, but is robustly supported by last-mile visibility and human capacity.

Collaboration in Focus: eHealth Africa at GDHF 2025

As eHealth Africa heads to GDHF 2025, the focus is not merely on presenting tools, but on advancing a conversation that matters.  Importantly, we are out to take on bold conversations on how to build health systems that continue functioning and continue improving, no matter what challenges arise.

Resilience is not built in a day. It is built through intentional design, strong infrastructure, meaningful partnerships, and solutions that communities can trust and sustain. At GDHF 2025, eHealth Africa joins national ministries, African innovators, and committed global partners to contribute to this vision and help shape the future of digital health – led from within and built to last.

By Joyce Shinyi

Progress in public health rarely arrives as a single headline. It often builds through design, proper execution, and a commitment to evidence. SARMAAN II represents that kind of progress. The study, formally known as Safety and Antimicrobial Resistance of Mass Administration of Azithromycin in Children 1–59 months in Nigeria, advances the work initiated under SARMAAN I, which focused on children 1–11 months. While Phase I demonstrated large-scale delivery across some states, Phase II is designed to understand what that intervention means in terms of safety, antimicrobial resistance, and long-term use of azithromycin for young children.

This evolution is important as global discourse continues around the role of antibiotics in child survival. Questions persist around benefit, risk, feasibility, and equity. SARMAAN II positions Nigeria to contribute clarity using data generated within Nigerian communities. SARMAAN II is being implemented across eleven northern Nigerian states: Sokoto, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Kaduna, Jigawa, Bauchi, Adamawa, Gombe, Yobe, and Zamfara. The geographic spread strengthens the ability to produce evidence across varied population and health system contexts. 

The programme is led by the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research (NIMR), supported by a broad group of implementing and technical partners including the Federal and State Ministries of Health, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, the World Health Organization, UNICEF, Sightsavers, Malaria Consortium, and eHealth Africa. Funding support is provided through consortium partners by the Gates Foundation. Each institution plays a defined role grounded in expertise, operational capacity, or scientific leadership.

eHealth Africa’s role

At eHealth Africa, our responsibility in SARMAAN II is straightforward: to build and maintain the digital and data systems that support accurate, timely, and trustworthy evidence. This includes digitised reporting tools, secure data infrastructure, structured training, and continuous field support to uphold data quality at every stage. Our work sits at the intersection of research and communities. Digital systems only work when the people behind them are trained, supported, and equipped to use them confidently. That combination of technology, supervision, and practical field discipline is what sustains data integrity throughout the study process.

As Darlington Okoye, SARMAAN Project Manager at eHealth Africa, explains; “With eHealth Africa involved, we digitised most of the case-report forms and built systems that ensure data remains clean at the point of collection. Digitisation has reduced lag time and strengthened real-time verification. Over time, we have also seen a clear improvement in the capacity of our research assistants as they continue to work with digital tools in the field.” These adjustments reinforce the precision required for credible scientific outputs.

Why SARMAAN II matters

Many programmes measure success in scale. SARMAAN II prioritises certainty. Certainty that interventions administered at population level are safe. Certainty that antimicrobial resistance risks are measured, not assumed. Certainty that policy decisions reflect Nigerian data and Nigerian experience. The significance of this work will be reflected not in speed, but in the quality of conclusions that can inform long-term child health policy.

The programme will continue strengthening digital processes, building field capacity, and multi-stakeholder coordination as implementation continues across  states. The objective extends beyond data capture to building durable systems, capability, and evidence that support informed decision-making in Nigeria’s health sector.

– Moshood Isah 

Low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are already bracing for a steady decline in donor contributions from across the world. At the same time, as health systems grow increasingly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and other public health challenges, expectations remain high, making a culture of efficiency more essential than ever.

Beyond the external challenge of shrinking donor funds, organizations , particularly community-based ones, continue to battle bureaucratic inefficiencies and duplication of interventions. Duplication of efforts across development projects often results from poor donor coordination in LMICs that receive development assistance. This leads to a loss of agility and responsiveness, with potential delays in overall deliverables.

In an era that calls for the acceleration of local innovation, especially in digital health and public health interventions, every resource must be used judiciously to achieve optimal impact. In response, organizations are taking intentional steps to implement Lean Management and human-centered approaches in their work. Lean Management is a continuous improvement philosophy that focuses on maximizing value, minimizing waste, and empowering teams to work more efficiently and effectively.

One of the organizations leading this charge is eHealth Africa (eHA). A few months ago, the Executive Director, Atef Fawaz, initiated an internal drive to promote a culture of Lean Management across the organization  and by extension, in its engagements with key partners.  This was preceded by comprehensive strategic training of managers and senior managers on the critical tenets of Lean management approach to Non-Profits. 

According to Atef, adopting a lean mindset is not only about maximizing output by eliminating waste of time and resources but also about ensuring that communities remain at the center of decision-making. He said, “Lean helps us stay grounded in what communities are telling us, not what we think we know.” Considering all eHealth Africa’s digital health solutions are human-centered, Atef reiterated that,  “feedback from communities remains key,  even as Lean supports consistent knowledge sharing and capacity building.” This, according to him, helps build the sustainability our work thrives on.

With clear results to show for it, this cultural shift at eHealth Africa has continued to strengthen trust and credibility among donors and partners. “We have always prided ourselves on transparency and accountability,” Atef adds. “This has endeared us to more donors globally, and integrating Lean principles further into our work can only make it stronger.”

To sustain this shift, eHealth Africa has deployed a series of internal communications and engagement strategies to enlighten its teams on the principles of Lean Management, from identifying waste and reducing duplication to ensuring that public health interventions are delivered efficiently, with communities in mind.

Equally important, top managers and directors are embracing the Gemba Walk;  a Lean practice where leaders step out of their offices and go to “the real place” where value is created. This includes project sites, data centers, or field locations. These visits give team members the opportunity to share experiences openly, helping leaders understand challenges and areas for improvement.

In addition, eHealth Africa has integrated smart working tools like Asana to enhance efficiency and transparency. The use of Asana has made project delivery more measurable, collaborative, and accountable.

According to Dena Lu, Chief of Staff to the Executive Director and eHA’s Asana Champion, Asana helps embody the Lean mindset of continuous improvement by keeping every task visible, organized, and aligned with our strategic goals. “It eliminates confusion, reduces time spent chasing updates, and allows me to quickly identify what can be improved in our workflows.”, She said.  With Asana, Dena is able to track progress in real time, streamline communication across teams, and ensure that every action contributes to greater impact.

Corroborating this, Solomon Emmanuel from the Information Communications and Technology (ICT) Help Desk notes that the user-friendly platform has become the backbone of transparency and accountability within the ICT team, bringing all our operational, technical, and administrative activities into one unified platform.  “It gives me clear visibility into what needs to be done, who is responsible, and the current stage of each task; effectively breaking down silos and improving coordination across the team.”, he said 

For Tope Ogunseye-Falodun, who leads the Project Support Unit, Asana has brought new order to teamwork. “Automated reminders prevent missed tasks, shared project spaces reduce duplication, and clearer timelines keep everyone aligned.”, she added 

Overall, tools like Asana, alongside other Lean-inspired strategies like the  launch of the Meeting Optimization to minimize unproductive meetings and protect deep work, have helped translate eHealth Africa’s strategic objectives into structured, visual workflows where accountability and improvement happen naturally. As Fozia Malik, Deputy Director, People & Organizational Strategy, explains; “It’s easier to spot what can be refined before it slows us down, a true reflection of Lean’s focus on flow.”

The results are visible and tangle with project alignment to strategic goals increasing to 86% from 81% in September and continued success in reducing No-Cost Extensions (NCEs) across all quarters of 2025 compared to 2024, maintaining the  25% overall reduction rate. Also, eHealth Africa’s latest innovations like  Climate Health Vulnerability Assessment Tool (CHAT) and other upcoming innovations were consistently reviewed and refined based on feedback from users in the communities we serve.

As eHealth Africa continues to strengthen its operational culture through Lean Management and human-centered design, the organization is setting a new standard for efficiency, accountability, and community-driven impact in global health. By embedding continuous improvement into everyday workflows, empowering teams with the right tools, and listening closely to the voices of the communities it serves, eHealth Africa is not only optimizing how it works but also reshaping how impact is sustained. 

ByJoyce Shinyi 

Climate change is no longer just a future threat, It is already disrupting health service delivery in Nigeria. Recent reports show that flooding has destroyed health centres, disrupted power, and destroyed medical supplies, creating barriers to care. This is even as  Nigeria’s rising heatwaves have led to increased heat-related illness, strained cold chains, and impaired medicine efficacy. As these  events become more frequent, the urgency to build resilient, climate-smart healthcare systems becomes impossible to ignore.

This informed eHealth Africa’s  June edition of Insights Webinar where it  convened public health and climate experts to explore the role of environmental sustainability in strengthening health systems. The conversation brought clarity to what climate-smart healthcare means in practice, and why it matters now more than ever.

Understanding Climate-Smart Healthcare

A climate-smart healthcare system is one that can deliver care despite environmental disruptions, and do so without worsening the climate crisis. During the webinar, Climate Change Lead at Pathfinder International, Praise Agbe,   emphasized the need for primary healthcare facilities to be powered by clean energy, equipped with sustainable water and sanitation systems, and built to remain functional during floods or droughts. This concept aligns with the World Health Organization’s guidance on climate-resilient and environmentally sustainable health care facilities.

Other key strategies to creating climate-resilient health systems  include proper medical waste disposal and training for healthcare workers to manage diseases linked to climate change. These are not optional features, they are essential for health systems that aim to serve communities in the years ahead. As highlighted by the World Bank’s Climate‑Smart Healthcare: Low‑Carbon and Resilience Strategies for the Health Sector report (2017), investments in low‑carbon, climate‑resilient systems can improve long‑term efficiency and reduce vulnerability.

The Challenge of Readiness

Despite this advocacy for eco-friendly health systems, many primary healthcare centres in Nigeria are vulnerable to climate-related shocks. Another panelist at the webinar, Temitayo Tella-Lah, Program Manager, Climate Resilience, Food Security & Nutrition, eHealth Africa, noted that most facilities lack the tools and data needed to assess their climate risks. She emphasized the importance of deploying digital tools to bridge this gap. 

A typical example of this digital tool according to her is the Climate Health Vulnerability Assessment Tool  (CHAT) developed by eHealth Africa to fill this gap. CHAT is a digital platform that helps health managers identify specific vulnerabilities across water, energy, workforce, and infrastructure. According to Temitayo, “CHAT turns complex data into actionable intelligence, allowing decision-makers to plan ahead rather than react after damage has been done.“

Tools like this are increasingly becoming more relevant if not inevitable. As a matter of fact, this is in line with the Global Road Map for Health Care Decarbonization calls for the integration of climate resilience into health systems, especially in low- and middle-income countries, through planning, infrastructure adaptation, and risk preparedness. CHAT  has already been deployed in four states and is helping highlight urgent gaps in climate preparedness with opportunity for scaling

The Barrier of Implementation

While innovations like CHAT are promising, the challenge lies in scaling them. Bankole Oloruntoba from the Nigerian Climate Innovation Center emphasized the importance of leadership and prioritization. As he put it, “If we, who play within this space, don’t make climate-health a priority, we won’t unlock its potential.” Financial constraints also remain a barrier, particularly for private health facilities. However, models exist for public-private partnerships and access to green financing. For example, the UN Environment Programme Finance Initiative works with banks, insurers, and investors to align financial systems with sustainability goals.  What is needed is coordinated effort and political will.

The Way Forward

We cannot talk about strengthening Nigeria’s health system without addressing climate resilience. This means integrating climate-smart planning into health policies and this should come with building the technical capacity of healthcare workers while  engaging communities in sustainable practices that protect health and environment together. As the discussion during the webinar made clear, climate-smart healthcare is not a luxury. It is a necessity for any system that intends to serve its population effectively. eHealth Africa remains committed to driving this conversation forward through tools like CHAT, strategic partnerships, and knowledge-sharing platforms like the Insights Webinar Series and the Insights Learning Forum.