eHealth Africa Unveils Strategy to Strengthen Outbreak Detection, Response

Folalumi Alaran in Abuja 

eHealth Africa has unveiled a new public health emergency management strategy aimed at strengthening early detection and rapid response systems across the country.

Speaking in Abuja at the unveiling of Africa’s Public Health Emergency Roadmap, the organisation’s Deputy Director for Supply Chain and Programme Delivery, Kazeem Balogun, said the initiative underscores its commitment to working closely with government to improve national health security.

Balogun explained the strategy was developed in collaboration with key stakeholders, including Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), World Health Organization (WHO) and Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), to ensure alignment with Nigeria’s broader health priorities.

According to him, the goal is to ensure that outbreaks are detected early and contained before escalating into national emergencies.

“What we are doing is bringing partners together to ensure that, as a country, we can detect and respond to outbreaks in a timely manner at all levels,” he said.

He noted that while Nigeria has developed strong health policies and frameworks over the years, implementation remains a major challenge.

“As a country, we’ve always had very excellent plans and strategies. The challenge has often been implementation. That is where we are focusing—ensuring these plans translate into action,” Balogun added.

He disclosed that the strategy is anchored on four key pillars, including strengthened coordination through Public Health Emergency Operations Centres (PHEOCs), adoption of the One Health approach integrating human, animal and environmental health, and improved community-based surveillance systems.

Balogun stressed that empowering communities to detect diseases early is critical to preventing outbreaks.

“The strategy is also focused on strengthening community systems so diseases are identified before they escalate into full-blown outbreaks,” he said.

He further highlighted the organisation’s track record in deploying digital and geospatial solutions, particularly in Nigeria’s polio eradication efforts, noting that such innovations would play a central role in the new strategy.

Beyond planning, he said eHealth Africa is prioritising resource mobilisation and stakeholder engagement to ensure effective implementation.

“We are not stopping at dissemination. The next phase is practical engagement with stakeholders to ensure this strategy is implemented to the letter,” he stated.

Also speaking, Director of Partnerships and Programs at eHealth Africa, Ota Akhigbe, said the newly unveiled strategy is not intended to replace existing systems but to strengthen them for better performance.

“This is not a parallel system or a short-term intervention. It is an execution-focused approach designed to improve systems that already exist—from surveillance to laboratories, logistics, and community-level detection,” she said.

Akhigbe emphasised that the real test of Nigeria’s preparedness lies at the subnational level.

“It is whether states are coordinated, local governments can act quickly, primary healthcare centres are prepared, and communities can detect and report early,” she noted, warning that rising outbreaks and climate-related risks demand stronger local systems.

On her part, National Coordinator of Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention in Nigeria, Oluyinka Olayemi, said strengthening Nigeria’s health system is critical not just for the country but for the entire continent.

“A chain is only as strong as its weakest link. Strengthening subnational capacity strengthens national and regional health security,” she said.

Olayemi urged stakeholders to apply lessons from past outbreaks such as Lassa fever, stressing that Nigeria already has the knowledge required to manage recurring health threats.

“We know the patterns and what it takes to curb these outbreaks. The focus now should be on implementation and coordination across sectors,” she added.

She further noted that declining global health funding and increasing outbreaks across Africa have made it imperative for countries to build more resilient, self-reliant health systems.

Similarly, a representative of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control Mohammed Saleh, called for urgent expansion of community-based surveillance across Nigeria.

He revealed that fewer than five per cent of the country’s 774 local government areas have fully implemented such systems.

“If we are serious about health security, we must scale community-based surveillance nationwide,” he said.

Saleh also stressed the need to strengthen and digitise Public Health Emergency Operations Centres, questioning why gaps in detection and response persist despite existing structures.

“We must move beyond discussions to practical action that improves detection, reporting, and response across the country,” he added.