Author: Moshood Isah

PEOC Upgrade: Nigerian President Commends eHealth Africa, Partners for Strengthening Immunization, Outbreak Response

Posted on by Moshood Isah

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has commended eHealth Africa and other partners for their role in strengthening immunization, disease surveillance, and outbreak response in Nigeria. This followed the commissioning of upgraded Polio Emergency Operations Centres (PEOCs) in Kano, Katsina, and Sokoto states.

The President gave the commendation during the nationwide commissioning of health infrastructure projects across the country’s six geopolitical zones as part of activities marking the third anniversary of his administration.

The three upgraded centres, originally established in 2013 with support from the Gates Foundation and managed by eHealth Africa, were expanded, renovated, and re-equipped to improve coordination of immunization programmes, disease surveillance, and emergency outbreak response at the state level.

The Kano PEOC is located at the Muhammad Abdullahi Wase Specialist Hospital, Nassarawa, while the Katsina centre is situated within the premises of the State Primary Health Care Development Agency. The Sokoto PEOC is housed at the Epidemiology Unit of the Specialist Hospital along Sultan Abubakar Road.

The centres were initially established to support Nigeria’s polio eradication efforts but have evolved into critical public health coordination hubs supporting routine immunization, disease surveillance, emergency preparedness, and response to disease outbreaks.

President Tinubu, while inaugurating the projects, acknowledged the contributions of eHealth Africa and other development partners like the World Bank and the Gates Foundation to strengthening Nigeria’s healthcare system.

In a press statement signed by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, and released after the commissioning, the President said the investments were aimed at ensuring that Nigerians have access to quality healthcare services regardless of their location.

“The President commended the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, the management of NEMSAS, the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, the World Bank, the Gates Foundation, eHealth Africa, the state governors, and the federal teaching hospitals that delivered the projects.”

The President also commissioned several other health projects across the country, including the National Emergency Medical Service and Ambulance System (NEMSAS) Emergency Response Fleet, a new specialist complex at the Federal Medical Centre, Jabi, Abuja, a Mental Health and Drug Rehabilitation Centre in Maiduguri, and a new immunization supply chain hub in Lagos.

Health sector stakeholders have described the PEOCs as one of the key pillars supporting Nigeria’s public health architecture, particularly in the areas of immunization coverage, disease surveillance, and emergency response coordination.

Over the years, eHealth Africa has worked with government and development partners to deploy data-driven solutions and technology systems that support disease control programmes and strengthen health systems across Nigeria and other African countries.

The commissioning of the upgraded centres will enhance coordination among health agencies and improve the country’s ability to detect and respond to outbreaks while supporting efforts to increase routine immunization coverage in vulnerable communities.

Read full Presidential Press Statement 

How eHealth Africa’s All-Female Internship Cohort is Shaping Women Leaders

Posted on by Moshood Isah

– Janet Jacob

In many parts of Nigeria, young women undergo the tough journey of academic turbulence and graduate with strong academic training, full of ambition and a desire. While graduation and National Service are seen as major achievements, it is indeed the beginning of another herculean voyage into the professional world. 

However, economic empowerment remains a major challenge for many women, who are more likely to face systemic barriers such as unequal pay, limited access to leadership opportunities, and the undervaluation of their work. As revealed by the World Health Organization, while women make up nearly 70% of the global health workforce, they occupy only about 25% of leadership roles.  As a matter of fact, over 21 million Nigerian women are financially excluded, often relying on informal savings or borrowing from family and friends.

It is within this context that the eHealth Africa Group positioned its 2025/2026 goal to empower economic prosperity and create equitable opportunities for women and vulnerable populations. As one of the Group’s implementing entities, eHealth Africa (eHA) is advancing this goal through targeted initiatives designed to bridge the gap between potential and opportunity. This birthed the All-Female Internship Cohort. 

This internship provides important opportunities for mentorship and practical skills in the field of public Healthcare while elevating economic empowerment opportunities. The organization took intentional steps to create opportunities within its procurement processes to encourage women to participate and succeed in doing business with the organization. So far, the journey has been similar for all the interns who are transitioning into bigger opportunities in the public healthcare systems. 

For Deborah Ayeni, a Public Health Science graduate placed in the Programs Delivery team within the Disease Prevention and Monitoring Unit, the biggest lesson has been the difference between theory and real-world execution.

“You may read in theory about steps to follow in project management, but in practice, things do not always work exactly as described in textbooks or videos. This has taught me that practical experience is very important and always outweighs theory,” she said. This not only provides an opportunity to build a career but also opens the door to bigger opportunities for employment and financial inclusion.

Deborah also highlighted the intentional design of the cohort. Seeing an all-female cohort made her feel that eHealth Africa is deliberately creating opportunities for women and actively working toward inclusion, especially in economic indices. “It was inspiring and encouraging to see this level of commitment,” she added.

Isioma Cynthia Ozoene interns with the Project Support Unit. She joined the cohort, eager to build real-world skills in project coordination. She found exactly the hands-on experience she was looking for, supported by guidance yet allowing plenty of independence.  “My team members are there to guide me, but they still give me room to carry out tasks by myself, with not much hand-holding,” she explained.

Being part of an all-female internship cohort has significantly contributed to interns’ economic empowerment, especially via exposure to other ambitious women, which has strengthened their mindset around financial independence and career growth. 

Isioma added that, “It has encouraged me to be more intentional about building a sustainable career and positioning myself for opportunities that improve my earning potential.”

Looking ahead, Isioma aims to build on this foundation by pursuing opportunities in project management and development practice, while continuing to grow through continuous learning, mentorship, and hands-on experience.

Precious Richard, an Actuarial Science graduate working with the Business Development team, has strengthened her skills in data organisation, research, adaptability, and time management. She has learned how to balance multiple responsibilities while meeting deadlines in a structured, high-performing environment. 

Reflecting on the cohort, she shared,“Being part of this all-female internship cohort has been an inspiring experience. It has taught me how the organisation is committed to gender equity and creating opportunities for women to thrive professionally. It has also strengthened my confidence and made me feel proud of being part of the organisation.”

Clever Rebecca, works in the Impact Measurement Department. Her role involves data analysis, qualitative and quantitative analysis, report writing, and data visualisation. She joined the programme expecting to gain more skills in areas where she wanted to grow. As she explained, “I did not know R programming before, and I was not familiar with Google tools for qualitative analysis. Now, I am learning them here. That was one of my expectations, and it has been met.”

Sharing her thoughts on the all-female cohort, she remarked, “It makes me feel that the organization is thoughtful and mindful of women.”

Across every directorate and office, the same themes emerge: growth, resilience, and discovery. As part of this all-female cohort, we are not only gaining technical skills, but we are also building the confidence and professional foundation needed to contribute meaningfully to public health and development across Africa.

Working within the Communications Department has been particularly transformative. It has shifted my perspective on communication from a supporting role to a strategic function, one that connects impactful work to the communities it is meant to serve.

Thus, for the 17 participants and me, that transformation has unfolded over the past six months. The program spans multiple directorates and has placed us across the Kano and Abuja offices as well as the Emergency Operations Centers (EOCs). Each of us has been given real responsibilities that continue to shape how we understand our roles and contributions to stronger health systems.

One of the most defining parts of this journey for me has been stepping into hands-on tasks that pushed me beyond my comfort zone. 

Through these experiences, I have begun to see the Communications Department not just as a support function, but as a powerful bridge between the work being done and the people it is meant to reach.

The All-Female Internship Cohort is a clear example of how the eHealth Africa Group’s broader goal is being translated into action. By creating structured pathways for young women to gain experience, build confidence, and access professional networks, the initiative is addressing both workforce gaps and economic inclusion. It is a deliberate investment in the next generation of female leaders. By equipping young women with real-world experience, mentorship, and opportunities, eHealth Africa is helping to shape a more inclusive, skilled, and resilient workforce; one that will drive lasting impact in the communities we serve.

Ultimately, this is not just about internships. It is about building a pipeline of skilled, confident women who are equipped to lead and economically empowered to contribute and drive lasting impact within public health systems and beyond.

What African-Led Digital Health Requires from European Partners

Posted on by Moshood Isah

Ota Akhigbe

African digital health is entering a new phase; one defined less by proving innovation and more by scaling what already works. As partnerships between Africa and Europe continue to evolve, the opportunity lies in moving beyond short-term pilots toward long-term, system-integrated solutions. Drawing on practical experience from across the continent, this article explores how more intentional partnership design can unlock sustainable impact at scale.

African digital health has gradually moved beyond pilots. The next stage is partnering to scale what already works.  Across the continent, the challenge is no longer proving that digital solutions can improve health outcomes. That case has been made repeatedly. The real test now is whether partnerships, particularly with European institutions, are structured to sustain and scale impact over time.

At eHealth Africa, our experience offers a clear view of what is possible when digital innovation is embedded within systems, not treated as an experiment. In 2025, our microplanning and monitoring tools, including Planfeld and the Geospatial Tracking System (GTS), supported immunization efforts across more than 500,000 settlements, more than doubling the reach from the previous year. Behind that number is a simple but powerful shift: health workers using trusted data to find and reach missed children. The result was over 20 million children immunized.

We have seen the same pattern in supply chain management. With digital tools designed to monitor vaccine potency and distribution in real time, more than 5 million doses were delivered to over 300 primary healthcare facilities. These are not isolated successes; they are the outcome of sustained investment in systems that work under real conditions.

And yet, across Africa, many promising solutions never reach this level of scale. A handful of these solutions are still evolving from pilot phases while others are at varying degrees of integration into national and subnational systems. This may have contributed to the well-known ‘graveyard of pilots’ narrative.  Thus, the next phase of Africa–Europe digital health will depend more on building the pathways that enable what already works to scale..

Three areas stand out where partnerships can evolve;

First, an important area of focus is the shift from short-term funding to long-term system investment. Digital health solutions may struggle to mature within the lifespan of a typical pilot cycle. They require sustained financing that supports not only deployment, but also integration, maintenance, and local capacity. Encouragingly, recent collaboration between the European Union and the World Health Organization to advance digital health transformation in Africa signals a move in this direction. The priority now is to deepen these models into long-term, co-owned commitments.

Second, greater emphasis on co-creation can help move beyond more top-down approaches. The most effective solutions are those built within the context they serve, aligned with national priorities, shaped by local expertise, and accountable to local institutions. Partnerships that treat African organizations as equal architects are more likely to produce outcomes that endure. Localisation is not a process choice. It is a power decision with who designs the tool, who owns the data, who keeps the institutional knowledge after the project closes. Partnerships that get those answers right are co-created. Partnerships that do not are using co-creation as language for inherited hierarchies. The alignment between African Union and European Union health priorities, particularly around health security and primary care, demonstrates what is possible when this balance is achieved.

Third, scaling proven solutions will be central to the next phase. Africa’s strength in innovation is well established; the priority now is strengthening the mechanisms that enable what works to expand to national and regional scale. Following demonstrated success, Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Health has approved the national adoption of eHealth Africa’s Climate Health Vulnerability Assessment Tool (CHAT). This is a practical example of how locally developed tools, once validated, can be integrated into public systems and expanded for broader impact. Replicating and adapting such models will deliver far greater value than repeatedly starting from zero.

These shifts are not theoretical; they are operational choices. They determine whether digital health investments translate into sustained outcomes or remain isolated successes.

Africa’s role in global health innovation has fundamentally changed. The continent is no longer defined by gaps, but by its growing capacity to design, test, and deliver solutions at scale. What is required now is a partnership model that matches that reality, one built on shared priorities, mutual accountability, and long-term commitment.

The opportunity before Africa and Europe is not to prove that digital health works. It is to scale what works, on the terms of the people who built it.

Ota Akhigbe is the Director of Partnerships and Programs at eHealth Africa, where she leads partnership strategy and external positioning for the organisation’s work across digital health, climate-health integration, and health system strengthening. She works at the intersection of African-led implementation and global health financing, and convenes funders, implementers, and policymakers across the Africa-Europe corridor. She is the co-curator of the AidEx Geneva 2026 headline panel on the future of humanitarian aid and a regular voice at global health convening.

eHealth Africa (eHA) is a nonprofit advancing stronger health systems across 26 African countries through locally driven, data-powered solutions. With over 15 years of experience, the organization has built scalable technology and operational platforms tailored to the continent’s public health challenges, while fostering collaboration to accelerate innovation and impact.

From Maps to Decisions: How eHealth Africa and Bayero University Are Strengthening Geospatial Capacity in Kano

Posted on by Moshood Isah

By Azeez-Ayodele Fatimah Ayotemitide

In a rural community in Kano, health workers may know that children are missing routine immunization, but without knowing exactly where those children live, response efforts can remain slow and incomplete.

Teams may understand what is happening, but not always where it is happening, where gaps persist, or how to respond with precision. In public health, that missing layer matters. Disease outbreaks spread across locations, and immunisation gaps often emerge in specific settlements. Without spatial intelligence, even strong data may fall short of driving effective action.

This challenge is not unique to Kano. Across many health systems, data is collected routinely but is not always translated into practical decisions that improve service delivery.

This reality informed the need for a Geospatial Curriculum for Health Professionals, a competency-based learning programme designed to help health workers apply geospatial tools to planning, surveillance, emergency response, and resource allocation.

Building Long-Term Geospatial Capacity

Across Nigeria, geospatial training has often happened in fragments, delivered through isolated programmes tied to short-term project cycles and rarely embedded into the institutions that shape long-term workforce development. eHealth Africa worked with Bayero University Kano’s Centre for Dryland Agriculture (CDA) to co-develop a competency-based curriculum that can outlast a single project. 

Supported by the Umbrella Fund, the collaboration aims to embed geospatial learning within academic and professional systems that can continue producing skilled public health workers over time.

eHealth Africa and Bayero University Kano piloted the first delivery of the curriculum, training 41 participants across the Basic, Intermediate, and Advanced certification tracks. The pilot brought together health professionals from government institutions and partner organisations for hands-on training in practical geospatial tools and workflows.

Victor Idakwo, Associate Manager, GIS & Data Analytics at eHealth Africa, explained: “Before this time, we had geospatial learning and training done in silos. That informed the project itself to have a standardised curriculum formulated and training handled by an accredited university in Nigeria. Instead of having training across different organisations, all the organisations can now come to a single place to receive the training.”

For Bayero University, the same shift is central. As Professor Murtala Mohammed Badamasi, Deputy Director at the Centre for Dryland Agriculture, noted: “Bayero University was willing to institutionalise this particular curriculum. We developed the curriculum together, co-designing and developing it together. And then we are now institutionalising it as part and parcel of the courses that will be run by the Centre for Dryland Agriculture.”

A curriculum designed for how health systems actually work

The Geospatial Curriculum for Health Professionals was intentionally designed around the realities of public health operations. It is a health-focused programme built around the decisions health workers make every day. 

The curriculum includes 11 modules delivered across three certification levels: Basic, Intermediate, and Advanced, and aligns learning to the different tiers of the health system, from primary healthcare and ward-level functions to local government and state-level planning. Participants learn practical tools, including the Global Positioning System (GPS) data collection, Quantum Geographic Information System (QGIS), digital data collection platforms, spatial analysis, and map use for routine decision-making.

The design also reflects the cross-sector nature of public health. Comfort Audu, Project Manager at eHealth Africa, noted during the pilot: “The initiative is timely as it has brought together participants from various Ministries, departments”, “and Agencies like NAFDAC, Veterinary, digital Health, Environment, and Food and Drugs, which forms the new trend of One Health.”

Early signs of operational relevance

What makes this work especially promising is how quickly participants began connecting geospatial tools to real health system needs. For some, the value was in replacing manual, paper-heavy processes with more efficient digital methods. For others, it was in seeing how tools like QGIS could strengthen immunisation tracking, campaign planning, and service coverage analysis.

Kasim Ibrahim of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), who joined the Basic class, described the training as an entry point into a new way of working: “Before this programme, I had zero idea. The only thing I used partially was Google Maps.” 

After the training, he said, “It has significantly shown me that with these tools, we can get better data and enhance field activities. Before now, we used analogue methods, paper and pen, which are prone to many errors.”

Building beyond the pilot

The long-term success of this initiative will not be measured only by the number of people trained in a single cohort. It will be measured by whether geospatial capacity becomes embedded in routine health system functions and whether institutions can continue producing that capacity over time.

That is why the partnership with Bayero University remains central. The Memorandum of Agreement signals a shared commitment to creating an institutional home for this work, one that can support curriculum refinement, future cohorts, and broader adoption over time.

This is how systems change begins: not with isolated moments of learning, but with structures that make learning durable.

Professor Murtala Mohammed Badamasi captured the logic clearly: “Partnership allows for synergy in terms of collaboration and the delivery of practice. This is where the partnership between non-governmental organisations and academia allows for the cross-fertilization of ideas.”

The long-term value of geospatial learning lies not only in collecting more data, but in helping health workers use that data more effectively. By moving geospatial training beyond short-term workshops and embedding it within an institutional framework, eHealth Africa and Bayero University are helping strengthen a workforce that can make more informed, location-driven public health decisions. Ultimately, stronger health systems depend not only on information but on the ability to turn information into action.

Give to Gain: Turning Gender Equity into Stronger, More Resilient Health Systems

Posted on by Moshood Isah

By Azeez-Ayodele Fatimah Ayotemitide

Across Nigeria’s health sector, women are often at the center of care delivery, yet far fewer are represented where critical decisions are made. From health policy to programme leadership, many of the systems shaping women’s health outcomes continue to operate without enough women in positions of influence.

The result is a gap between lived realities and decision-making, where issues affecting women and children are too often addressed without the leadership and perspectives of those most affected.

These were some of the issues explored during eHealth Africa’s 40th Insights Webinar, Give to Gain: Advancing Women’s Rights and Capacities for Sustainable Impact. Beyond advocacy, the conversation focused on what it takes to build systems where women are not only included but supported to lead, influence decisions, and improve health outcomes within their communities.

Giving Beyond Charity

For participants, “giving” extended far beyond financial support. Augustina Okpechi, Project and Communications Lead at KSH Foundation, described it as sharing time, expertise, opportunities, and access in ways that help other women grow and succeed.

Hannatu Balarabe Saidu, Project Manager for the Girl Child Programme at Maina and Kids Children Foundation, emphasized the importance of sustaining that support across generations. “The real work is reinforcing what women have always done, giving back to the very communities and younger girls who shaped them. No one reaches where they are without a woman behind them,” she said. “The task is to keep that chain alive”.

From Individual Effort to Systemic Change

Individual giving matters, but the panel was clear: systems determine scale. Nuzo Eziechi, Senior Manager, Talent and Performance Management at eHealth Africa, was blunt about the gap many organisations still face. While many women enter the workforce, significantly fewer progress into leadership positions.

She called it the “broken rung” and stressed that closing it requires more than mentorship. It demands sponsorship, deliberate leadership pipelines, and policies that reflect real life.

At eHealth Africa, these conversations are supported by deliberate workplace policies and representation goals. Women currently make up 33.3% of the workforce and 34.7% of leadership roles across the organisation.

The organisation backs these numbers with practical measures, which include flexible work arrangements, remote options, and adjusted hours for mothers returning from maternity leave. These measures help create an environment where women are better supported to balance professional growth and family responsibilities.

Making Equity Measurable and Sustainable

Another major focus of the discussion was accountability.

Nuzo emphasised treating gender equity as an organisational performance issue, not just a social goal. “Without data, equity conversations remain abstract,” she said. She stressed that organisations must measure representation, progression, pay equity, and retention, and respond intentionally to the gaps the data reveals.

Hannatu added that real change in communities requires long-term commitment: sustained funding, working through (not around) local leaders, continued education, and patience. Sustainable change, she noted, often takes years and requires consistent investment across generations.

The Way Forward

The conversation left a clear challenge: investing in women is not separate from building stronger health systems. When women are fully equipped, fully included, and fully heard, the gains are never limited to women alone. They strengthen health systems,  institutions, communities, societies, and economies.

The discussion reinforced a broader truth: stronger and more resilient health systems cannot be built without intentionally investing in women’s leadership, participation, and opportunities.\n\nThrough the Insights Learning Forum (ILF), eHealth Africa continues to create spaces for conversations that connect ideas to practical action and long-term systems change.

The challenge now is moving beyond intention and building the structures, policies, and opportunities that allow gender equity to become sustainable and measurable.

What does it mean to “stand with science”? 

Posted on by Moshood Isah

– Joyce Shinyi

World Health Day 2026 was marked globally under the theme “Together for Health. Stand with Science.” Across platforms, governments, organisations, and health advocates highlighted the importance of science, collaboration, and innovation in shaping the future of global health.  Key stakeholders emphasised the importance of evidence, collaboration, and the future of global health. 

Yet supporting science requires more than advocacy alone. It also requires investment in the infrastructure that allows science to function effectively.

In Africa, that gap between what we celebrate and what we actually invest in shows up in delayed results, missed outbreaks, and diseases that spread further than they should. To stand with science is to recognise that advocacy and infrastructure are two sides of the same coin; one makes the promise while the other delivers it.

Where it all begins: The Lab

In public health, we often prioritise what is visible: the clinic, the bedside, and the treatment. But effective healthcare begins long before treatment is provided.. Before a healthcare provider can treat an illness, they have to know what they are fighting, and before a government can mobilise a response, a scientist has to confirm the threat. Laboratories remain one of the most critical, yet underfunded, components of many health systems.

A 2023 Africa CDC survey found that 85% of African countries cited inconsistent laboratory supplies as their primary challenge to diagnostic capacity, followed by inadequate infrastructure (45%) and limited government funding (43%). In 2023 alone, Africa recorded 180 public health emergencies, 90% of which were infectious diseases. Without functional and well-equipped laboratories, responses to public health emergencies are significantly weakened. 

Take polio, for example; most people assume it is essentially a solved problem, but the truth is, it is not. Between January 2023 and June 2024, 74 circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus outbreaks were confirmed across 39 countries, predominantly in Africa, resulting in 672 confirmed cases of paralysis, most of them children under five.

These outbreaks persist not because solutions do not exist, but because the infrastructure required to deploy those solutions consistently is still inadequate in many settings.

Speaking during a high-level radio programme to commemorate World Health Day, eHealth Africa’s deputy director of partnerships and programs, Dr David Akpan, emphasised that science is a discovery that produces consistent results through laboratories, which can be replicated and given wider application. 

He said, “For any aspect of digital health to succeed, everyone in the population must have access to the necessary digital and physical infrastructure. This, no doubt, includes functional laboratories.”

Citing recent examples, Dr David reflected on the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, saying, “The rapid response was only possible because laboratories were equipped and ready to generate actionable evidence.”

In a similar vein, the World Health Organisation (WHO) emphasises that interrupting transmission requires timely responses. A timely response often depends on how quickly samples can reach laboratories with the equipment needed to analyse them. This is because, if a sample has to cross borders just to be read, then the response is already too late. 

Moving beyond the hashtags

Organisations like eHealth Africa understand the importance of both advocacy and implementation. This informs the driving force behind eHealth Africa’s  Laboratory Infrastructure and Procurement Strengthening (LIPS) intervention. With funding from the Gates Foundation and in coordination with the World Health Organisation Regional Office for Africa (WHO AFRO), eHealth Africa is supporting 16 laboratories in 15 countries across Africa, with 9 labs already completed and handed over. 

Across countries in sub-Saharan Africa, we have renovated and commissioned laboratories, not because it is the most visible work but because we believe that to strengthen health systems, we must first strengthen their foundation: the lab. Advocacy must ultimately translate into practical investments that strengthen health systems. 

Research published in PLOS Global Public Health puts it plainly: for Africa to achieve diagnostic self-sufficiency, countries need targeted investment in their own laboratory infrastructure. Diagnostic self-sufficiency is the condition that makes surveillance, response, containment, and eradication work.

Evidence in Action: The UTH Virology Lab, Zambia

To stand with science is to build. In April 2026, the WHO Regional Office for Africa (WHO AFRO), in collaboration with eHealth Africa and the Zambian Ministry of Health, officially handed over the upgraded Virology Laboratory at the University Teaching Hospital (UTH) in Lusaka. We transformed a single-story facility into a state-of-the-art, two-storey building; we added 23 new units, including specialised sequencing labs, environmental surveillance rooms, and advanced ICT infrastructure. This lab is now equipped to conduct genomic sequencing in-country, ensuring that when poliovirus or other pathogens are detected, Zambia has the “diagnostic self-sufficiency” to respond immediately, without waiting for samples to cross borders.

As the momentum of World Health Day 2026 recedes and the public conversation shifts, the global health community must confront a difficult question: “What have we done to show that we stand with science?”

“Standing with science” means investing in the systems that allow scientific evidence to translate into timely public health action. It means strengthening laboratories, improving diagnostic capacity, and ensuring that countries can respond quickly and effectively when outbreaks occur.

How Digital Maps Are Helping Lagos Reach Every Child with Vaccines

Posted on by Moshood Isah

Moshood Isah

On vaccination days in Lagos, reaching every child is never simple. In communities surrounded by water, crowded by informal settlements, and rapidly expanding neighborhoods, frontline health workers often spend days trying to identify where eligible children live.

For more than 17 years, Olubukola Grace Obasa has worked to ensure children in her community do not miss life-saving vaccines. As Chief Nursing Officer at Ijede Primary Healthcare Centre and Ward Focal Person for Oke Oyinbo Ward in Ikorodu, she understands how easily entire settlements can be overlooked during immunization campaigns.

With almost her entire career dedicated to saving lives through immunization interventions, Olubukola not just leads the collection of potent vaccines but also ensures proper immunization of children. Identifying zero-dose communities and planning vaccination campaigns often required days of manual work.

Most importantly, Olubukola tries to make use of all available resources to ensure proper data collection for campaign planning and post-campaign evaluation. Planning for an immunization campaign can be a herculean task for her. In most cases, it takes close to a week of working with community mobilisers, Routine Immunization officers, and other key stakeholders to manually identify locations where eligible children can be found.

One major challenge was working with people unfamiliar with the community. “For instance, someone deployed from another area to support micro-planning may struggle to work effectively because they do not fully understand the local settlements,” Olubukola said. “With manual walkthroughs, some hard-to-reach areas can still be missed, no matter how thorough the process is.”

For Olubukola, the biggest concern was not just the workload, but the possibility of leaving children behind. “With manual walkthroughs, no matter how thorough you try to be, some areas, especially hard-to-reach locations, may still be missed,” she said.

That challenge began to change in November 2025 when eHealth Africa, in partnership with UNICEF, introduced digital micro-planning tools across selected LGAs in Lagos.

Using eHealth Africa’s GIS-enabled planning platform, PlanFeld, health teams were able to map settlements more accurately and identify zero-dose and under-immunized communities that could previously be overlooked during manual planning. The system was piloted in Lagos Mainland, Ikorodu, Kosofe, and Alimosho LGAs, where difficult terrain, dense settlements, and rapidly changing communities often make vaccination planning more challenging.

The new approach was quickly put to the test during the statewide Measles-Rubella (MR) campaign conducted from January 27 to February 5, 2026, targeting children aged 9 months to 14 years.

According to Olubukola, the digital planning process helped teams capture settlements more accurately and improved confidence in the data used for vaccine allocation. “Previously, we relied on estimates. We might expect to vaccinate 20 or 30 children in a location, but with this new system, we now have figures that match what we find on the ground,” she said.

She explained that the system also improved vaccine distribution by helping teams allocate doses more accurately based on population size. “We avoid allocating too few vaccines to densely populated areas or too many to smaller settlements. Overall, it makes the process more efficient and cost-effective,” she added.

Beyond planning, the digital tools also improved field supervision. GIS-enabled trackers allowed supervisors to monitor vaccination teams remotely and confirm that teams remained within their assigned coverage areas. “Previously, it was difficult to know if participants had moved outside their designated areas, but with trackers, this is now visible,” Olubukola said.

Similar experiences were reported in Kosofe LGA, where health workers also relied on digital maps and Daily Implementation Plans generated through PlanFeld to identify missed settlements and improve vaccination coverage.

According to Nurse Shote Emmanuella, Ward Focal Person for Orile-Oworo Primary Healthcare Centre in Kosofe LGA, the maps helped teams review daily progress and revisit locations that could not initially be reached. “If we couldn’t find a settlement because a school was unavailable or inaccessible, we planned to return the next day. The maps helped us track those missed areas and ensure no settlement was skipped,” she said.

In some cases, the maps also revealed communities that health workers did not realize extended beyond their usual coverage assumptions. “In one settlement, I initially thought there were only two or three churches. But the maps showed that the area extended further than we thought. We discovered more churches in places we would have otherwise missed and were able to vaccinate more children there,” Shote said.

For frontline health workers, the digital tools also strengthened accountability during campaign implementation. “When people know they are being tracked, they tend to be more accountable in their work. It encourages them to properly cover all assigned areas,” she added.

For health workers like Olubukola and Shote, digital micro-planning is doing more than improving logistics. It is helping ensure that children in hard-to-reach and underserved communities are not missed during immunization campaigns, regardless of where they live.

The “Spatial Blind Spot” in Global Health

Posted on by Moshood Isah

Oyindamola Fashogbon

In global health, data drives decisions. But in public health emergencies, data without location context is difficult to act on. For decades, one of the biggest challenges in disease surveillance has not been the absence of information, but the inability to clearly identify where risks are emerging and where interventions are needed most.

In many health systems, surveillance reports may arrive on time, but without geographic context, response teams still struggle to identify which communities are most at risk and where resources should be prioritized.

 When decision-makers cannot visualize exactly where a risk is emerging, resources are distributed broadly and inefficiently rather than aimed surgically. In the high-stakes environment of an outbreak, location is the ultimate variable for risk, vulnerability, and priority. When outbreaks spread across hard-to-reach or underserved communities, delays in identifying affected locations can slow coordination, stretch limited resources, and increase vulnerability for already at-risk populations.

Intervention: Geospatial Intelligence as an Operational Core

eHealth Africa (eHA) is helping public health teams move beyond static reporting toward real-time operational intelligence. We are integrating geospatial intelligence into the day-to-day operations of Public Health Emergency Operations Centers (EOCs).

Rather than using maps only for retrospective reporting, eHA supports the use of dynamic geospatial dashboards within the daily workflow of health officials and emergency coordination teams.

This integrated approach brings surveillance data, logistics tracking, and partner coordination into a shared operational view that supports faster and more informed decision-making.

This is the centerpiece of our Public Health Emergency Management (PHEM) 2026-2028 Strategy, specifically our pillar on Strengthening Data Systems and Epidemic Intelligence.

Key Components of the Intervention:

  • Real-Time Surveillance Layers: Combining epidemiological trends with population and infrastructure data to identify high-risk areas more quickly.
  • Integrated EOC Dashboards: Providing Technical Working Groups with a shared operational picture to support coordinated decision-making in real time.
  • Predictive Logistics Mapping: Tracking facility readiness and supply gaps to improve the delivery of critical supplies to underserved communities.

Evidence: Intelligence in Motion

The impact of geospatial integration can be seen in how the Emergency Operations Centers we support coordinate surveillance, logistics, and response activities more efficiently.

“By placing visual intelligence at the center of the workflow, we eliminate the ‘he-said, she-said’ of coordination. Everyone sees the same map, speaks the same language, and moves toward the same goal.”- Abuja EOC Manager

By operationalizing this data, eHealth Africa has observed improved coordination and faster visibility into emerging risks through the use of geospatially enabled systems.

When uncertainty is replaced by clarity, the entire system accelerates. Our internal benchmarks indicate that geospatial integration allows for:

  • Infant-stage risk spotting: Identifying anomalies before they scale into outbreaks.
  • Zero-waste logistics: Visible “gaps” on the map ensure partners no longer duplicate efforts or overlook remote settlements.

From Reactive Reporting to Coordinated Intelligence

Traditional public health systems often rely on fragmented reporting processes, making it difficult to identify emerging risks and coordinate responses effectively and quickly. By integrating geospatial intelligence into Emergency Operations Centers, eHA is helping shift outbreak response toward more predictive surveillance, coordinated operations, and targeted resource deployment.

This transition enables health teams to:

  • move from reactive reporting to proactive monitoring,
  • improve coordination across partners and agencies,
  • identify service and supply gaps more quickly,
  • and support faster decision-making during outbreaks.

Why It Matters: System-Level Impact

This is more than a technical upgrade; it represents a shift toward faster, evidence-informed public health decision-making. By turning coordinates into clarity, eHealth Africa is shifting the public health landscape from reactive firefighting to predictive coordination.

Strengthening epidemic intelligence through geospatial systems ensures that national and subnational teams can interoperate seamlessly. At the system level, this reduces the cost of response, minimizes the duration of outbreaks, and most importantly, saves lives by reaching the most vulnerable populations with surgical precision.

The Bottom Line: Geography is the ultimate language of coordination. At eHealth Africa, we are using that language to turn data into decisions and decisions into a healthier future for all.

How eHealth Africa Is Empowering Women Entrepreneurs to Drive Community Impact

Posted on by Moshood Isah

Moshood Isah 

Generally, venturing into any kind of business comes with huge risks and the fear of the unknown regarding its potential success or failure. It becomes even more difficult when a woman is setting up a business in a competitive and mostly male-dominated environment.

Women largely depend on their savings, as the United Nations recently revealed that only about 23% of women-owned businesses in Nigeria can access formal credit, while nearly 80% rely on personal savings to start and sustain their ventures.

This is the biggest fear of Grace Mark, a female business owner in Northeastern Nigeria. “When I started my business, my biggest fear was that I was investing in something that might not succeed because I lacked connections and financial support,” she said. “I was worried because I didn’t know anyone who could support my small business. I began reaching out to different organizations, and eHealth Africa was one of them. At the time, I believed that if you didn’t know someone within an organization, your company wouldn’t even be considered.” The story of Grace changed for the better after her first encounter with eHealth Africa.

Recognizing that women are often among the most underserved groups in many communities, both in Africa and globally, the Board and Management of the EHA Group the parent platform for eHealth Africa, EHA Clinic, and eHA Impact Ventures took deliberate steps to empower women by encouraging and supporting female business owners and vendors.

According to eHealth Africa’s Director of Finance and Administration, Dr. Ben Igbinosa, the organization took intentional steps to create opportunities within its procurement processes to encourage women to participate and succeed in doing business with the organization. He said, “This is in line with the Group’s broader vision of ensuring underserved communities live healthy and prosperous lives.”

As revealed by Dr. Ben, before this initiative, less than 20 percent of eHealth Africa’s vendors were women. To address this imbalance, the organization set a target that 30 percent of procurement opportunities within the single-quotation threshold should go to women. Aside from prioritizing women-owned businesses, one of the strategies eHealth Africa deployed was organizing training sessions to help women understand how to do business with the organization, which follows international standards. “Once vendors understand how to work with us, they can easily work with other organizations in the development sector as well,” Dr. Ben added.

The training bridges critical gaps in how business is conducted and, by extension, opens up bigger opportunities. Many women in local communities operate informal businesses. They engage in small-scale trading without registering their businesses or meeting formal requirements.

However, Dr. Ben said, “To work with organizations like eHealth Africa, vendors must meet certain legal and operational standards. For example, businesses must be registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) and must have a Tax Identification Number (TIN). These requirements ensure that vendors operate legitimate businesses.”

“Beyond registration, we also trained them on procurement processes, how to respond to a Request for Quotation (RFQ), how quotations are evaluated, and what organizations look for when selecting vendors.” These include competitive pricing, product quality, and the ability to deliver on time.

The idea is simple: if they meet these standards, they can continue to receive business opportunities, grow their enterprises, and become economically empowered. Importantly, this has been the case with vendors like Grace Mark, who secured her business opportunity with eHealth Africa by taking basic steps.

One key lesson Grace learned from the training is transparency and fairness. “Vendors are given equal opportunities to quote, regardless of whether they know anyone in the organization,” she said.

“In fact, eHealth Africa was the first organization I supplied to after starting my business. I had assumed that connections were necessary to secure contracts, but my encounter with eHealth Africa changed that perspective completely,” Grace added.

Another businesswoman, Ngozi, corroborated this, saying, “During the training conducted by eHealth Africa, they explained that they aim to empower women and even give slight preference when awarding contracts if quotations are similar.” Ngozi revealed that the training has made it easier and more effective to deal with other clients. “For example, when working with other clients, I insist on having a Purchase Order (PO) before proceeding. It helps me make the best moves at the right time and manage other clients effectively,” she said.

The impact is indeed immense, as women continue to become economically and intellectually empowered. Dr. Ben also revealed that one of the many women who participated in the program “eventually secured a contract worth about ₦22 million with us. She successfully delivered the contract and later secured another contract worth about ₦52 million.”

The intention is not to exclude men but to deliberately create opportunities for women who have historically been underrepresented. The goal is to gradually build capacity and ensure women can confidently compete in the broader procurement space. When women are economically empowered, they support their families, educate their children, and contribute to the stability of their communities. This is because economic empowerment reduces poverty, improves household welfare, and can even help reduce social problems such as crime or exploitation.

Frontline Workers Confront Polio Threats With Quiet Sacrifice and Digital Tools 

Posted on by Moshood Isah

Moshood Isah 

For frontline vaccinators, reaching every child often means trekking long distances across difficult terrain and in harsh weather conditions.

 Vaccination campaigns in the remotest of communities are definitely a herculean task. Doing so during Ramadan or the Lenten fasting period, under harsh weather conditions, is a very important and necessary sacrifice aimed at confronting polio threats and protecting children through life-saving vaccines.

“The life-saving impact and the importance of saving children across communities indeed trounces any difficulty or hardship experienced during the process”. This is the general response of vaccinators and supervisors during the just concluded vaccination campaign in Kebbi and neighboring Sokoto and Zamfara states. 

eHealth Africa’s Kebbi state coordinator, Habib Salako, despite spiritual obligations of the fasting season, effectively plans, implements, and monitors vaccination campaigns, which remain a crucial obligation. “My responsibility as State Coordinator is to coordinate the activities of public health programs, including deployment of Geospatial Tracking Systems and Advocacy Communication and Social Mobilization (ACSM).” he said. Habib also leads the development of digital micro-plans, printing and distribution of guide maps, and supports the state in Routine Immunization services and any other public health service delivery components.

For Habib, leading vaccination campaigns in his state is a service to humanity. He said, “The joy of seeing children vaccinated is immense because when a child is vaccinated, we boost their immune system and help prevent future diseases. That is the biggest reward and motivation to continue despite stress.”

Beyond vaccination, Habib and his team of Local Government Area Coordinators engage in social mobilization and awareness campaigns, working with traditional and religious leaders, schools, parent-teacher associations, youth groups, women’s groups, Community-Based Organizations, and other stakeholders. The goal, according to him, is to ensure quality healthcare delivery, even in the most remote and, many times, in security-compromised locations. 

The case is the same with Rabiu Sani, who supports public health campaigns in Birnin Kebbi Local Government as the coordinator of his LGA. Despite working in difficult and sometimes security-compromised terrain, Rabiu also endured the challenge of convincing non-compliant caregivers to accept vaccines for their children.

“Despite these challenges, we do our best to ensure that eligible children are immunized,”, he said. Rabiu showered encomiums on all vaccinators going house to house to administer life-saving vaccines to protect children, saying no monetary compensation can match the effort they put in. “I ask them to continue; their reward will come from God”, he added.

The Ramadan/Lent Vaccination campaign was necessitated by the recent discovery of  Circulating Variant Poliovirus type 3 (cVPV3) in Aliero Local Government of Kebbi state. The state is highly vulnerable due to its multiple borders, across LGAs, state boundaries, and international borders, which allow people to move in and out freely. This is why Kebbi State, in particular, continues to experience these variants.

For this reason, both the state and the country, through the polio program, intentionally selected this period to conduct the campaign at this time. The campaign was implemented across three states: Kebbi, Sokoto, and Zamfara. To ensure the vaccination campaign process is seamless, data-driven, and efficient, eHealth Africa has successfully led the transition from paper-based micro-planning to digitised platforms using PlanFeld, eHealth Africa’s in-house digital solution.

According to the project manager, Comfort Audu, PlanFeld depends largely on Geographic Information System-enabled data, which is the master list of settlements containing several attributes. She said, “eHealth Africa ensures data from across all settlements are clean and accurate via proper validation”.  “Once the data is ready, we generate a micro-plan, daily implementation plans, ward guide maps, and maps for teams to implement immunisation campaigns across the states”, she added.

While a micro-plan is basically a practical guide that directs vaccination team members on where to go and what to do during campaigns,  the Daily Implementation Plan (DIP) serves as a day-to-day roadmap. “It helps teams decide their movements based on settlement characteristics, the number of working days, and the specific areas to be covered”, she said 

Thus, during the difficult period of the vaccination campaign during fasting, proper vaccination planning, enhanced by Planfeld, rationalizes workload for teams. It also accounts for the logistics required to successfully carry out each day’s activities.

The general outcome of all this support is to ensure that the virus is curbed and that eligible children are reached, even in the last mile. This means vaccinating children in their households or at borders, including those found on the streets across Nigeria and neighboring countries, as border vaccinations are also being conducted.

Through these coordinated efforts, eHealth Africa continues to demonstrate leadership in the vaccination space, leveraging data-driven strategies, strong partnerships, and on-the-ground expertise to reach underserved populations and strengthen disease surveillance. This commitment not only supports the fight against polio but also reinforces resilient health systems capable of protecting every child, everywhere.

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