Journal of Public Health Management and Practice, 2017
Emergency Operations Centers (EOCs) have been credited with driving the recent successes achieved... more Emergency Operations Centers (EOCs) have been credited with driving the recent successes achieved in the Nigeria polio eradication program. EOC concept was also applied to the Ebola virus disease outbreak and is applicable to a range of other public health emergencies. This article outlines the structure and functionality of a typical EOC in addressing public health emergencies in low-resource settings. It ascribes the successful polio and Ebola responses in Nigeria to several factors including political commitment, population willingness to engage, accountability, and operational and strategic changes made by the effective use of an EOC and Incident Management System. In countries such as Nigeria where the central or federal government does not directly hold states accountable, the EOC provides a means to improve performance and use data to hold health workers accountable by using innovative technologies such as geographic position systems, dashboards, and scorecards.
To evaluate oral poliovirus vaccine (OPV) coverage of the November 2009 round in five Northern Ni... more To evaluate oral poliovirus vaccine (OPV) coverage of the November 2009 round in five Northern Nigeria states with ongoing wild poliovirus transmission using clustered lot quality assurance sampling (CLQAS). We selected four local government areas in each pre-selected state and sampled six clusters of 10 children in each Local Government Area, defined as the lot area. We used three decision thresholds to classify OPV coverage: 75-90%, 55-70% and 35-50%. A full lot was completed, but we also assessed in retrospect the potential time-saving benefits of stopping sampling when a lot had been classified. We accepted two local government areas (LGAs) with vaccination coverage above 75%. Of the remaining 18 rejected LGAs, 11 also failed to reach 70% coverage, of which four also failed to reach 50%. The average time taken to complete a lot was 10 h. By stopping sampling when a decision was reached, we could have classified lots in 5.3, 7.7 and 7.3 h on average at the 90%, 70% and 50% coverage targets, respectively. Clustered lot quality assurance sampling was feasible and useful to estimate OPV coverage in Northern Nigeria. The multi-threshold approach provided useful information on the variation of IPD vaccination coverage. CLQAS is a very timely tool, allowing corrective actions to be directly taken in insufficiently covered areas.
Nigeria, the giant of Africa, is a country of great potential and great challenges. Its populatio... more Nigeria, the giant of Africa, is a country of great potential and great challenges. Its population of over 150 million is growing fast and will likely double by the middle of this century. Anyone who has ever visited the country cannot but be impressed by the creativity, ingenuity, and character of its people but saddened by the hardship too many face. That is, despite its great oil wealth, a majority lives off less than USD1.25 a day. Yet Nigeria’s current demographic development could open a window for accelerated growth: its young, healthy, and educated workforce has the potential to become an asset to the country far greater than the natural resources lying abundantly in its soil. Millions could be lifted out of poverty, and Nigeria could find its true position in the global economy. If this potential is not realized, however, if Nigeria fails to create the necessary opportunities for its people, if no more is invested in human development, Africa’s most populous country could face demographic disaster.
In 2021, many countries have begun distribution of COVID-19 vaccines but are hampered by signific... more In 2021, many countries have begun distribution of COVID-19 vaccines but are hampered by significant levels of vaccine hesitancy or apathy. Experts recommend that standard health communication campaigns be expanded to include a more holistic approach of behaviourally oriented strategies. We constructed a large-scale Delphi panel of marketing and behavioural science university faculty to assess 12 previously reported US vaccination promotion strategies, asking respondents to assess applicability of the strategy in their country, how efficacy might compare to the USA and recommendations for local adaptations necessary to successful implementation. Separately, we sought to determine whether strategies based on cognitive mechanisms (eg, ‘nudges’) are more readily generalisable than strategies based on social identity. Ninety-two marketing and behavioural science faculty from universities worldwide participated. Globally, all 12 behavioural strategies were validated; a majority of respon...
Journal of Public Health Management and Practice, 2017
Emergency Operations Centers (EOCs) have been credited with driving the recent successes achieved... more Emergency Operations Centers (EOCs) have been credited with driving the recent successes achieved in the Nigeria polio eradication program. EOC concept was also applied to the Ebola virus disease outbreak and is applicable to a range of other public health emergencies. This article outlines the structure and functionality of a typical EOC in addressing public health emergencies in low-resource settings. It ascribes the successful polio and Ebola responses in Nigeria to several factors including political commitment, population willingness to engage, accountability, and operational and strategic changes made by the effective use of an EOC and Incident Management System. In countries such as Nigeria where the central or federal government does not directly hold states accountable, the EOC provides a means to improve performance and use data to hold health workers accountable by using innovative technologies such as geographic position systems, dashboards, and scorecards.
To evaluate oral poliovirus vaccine (OPV) coverage of the November 2009 round in five Northern Ni... more To evaluate oral poliovirus vaccine (OPV) coverage of the November 2009 round in five Northern Nigeria states with ongoing wild poliovirus transmission using clustered lot quality assurance sampling (CLQAS). We selected four local government areas in each pre-selected state and sampled six clusters of 10 children in each Local Government Area, defined as the lot area. We used three decision thresholds to classify OPV coverage: 75-90%, 55-70% and 35-50%. A full lot was completed, but we also assessed in retrospect the potential time-saving benefits of stopping sampling when a lot had been classified. We accepted two local government areas (LGAs) with vaccination coverage above 75%. Of the remaining 18 rejected LGAs, 11 also failed to reach 70% coverage, of which four also failed to reach 50%. The average time taken to complete a lot was 10 h. By stopping sampling when a decision was reached, we could have classified lots in 5.3, 7.7 and 7.3 h on average at the 90%, 70% and 50% coverage targets, respectively. Clustered lot quality assurance sampling was feasible and useful to estimate OPV coverage in Northern Nigeria. The multi-threshold approach provided useful information on the variation of IPD vaccination coverage. CLQAS is a very timely tool, allowing corrective actions to be directly taken in insufficiently covered areas.
Nigeria, the giant of Africa, is a country of great potential and great challenges. Its populatio... more Nigeria, the giant of Africa, is a country of great potential and great challenges. Its population of over 150 million is growing fast and will likely double by the middle of this century. Anyone who has ever visited the country cannot but be impressed by the creativity, ingenuity, and character of its people but saddened by the hardship too many face. That is, despite its great oil wealth, a majority lives off less than USD1.25 a day. Yet Nigeria’s current demographic development could open a window for accelerated growth: its young, healthy, and educated workforce has the potential to become an asset to the country far greater than the natural resources lying abundantly in its soil. Millions could be lifted out of poverty, and Nigeria could find its true position in the global economy. If this potential is not realized, however, if Nigeria fails to create the necessary opportunities for its people, if no more is invested in human development, Africa’s most populous country could face demographic disaster.
In 2021, many countries have begun distribution of COVID-19 vaccines but are hampered by signific... more In 2021, many countries have begun distribution of COVID-19 vaccines but are hampered by significant levels of vaccine hesitancy or apathy. Experts recommend that standard health communication campaigns be expanded to include a more holistic approach of behaviourally oriented strategies. We constructed a large-scale Delphi panel of marketing and behavioural science university faculty to assess 12 previously reported US vaccination promotion strategies, asking respondents to assess applicability of the strategy in their country, how efficacy might compare to the USA and recommendations for local adaptations necessary to successful implementation. Separately, we sought to determine whether strategies based on cognitive mechanisms (eg, ‘nudges’) are more readily generalisable than strategies based on social identity. Ninety-two marketing and behavioural science faculty from universities worldwide participated. Globally, all 12 behavioural strategies were validated; a majority of respon...
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