“There is nothing mysterious about what we need to do. The only real question is if we’ll do it fast enough.” — Tom Frieden. Former Director, U.S. Center for Disease Control
Imagine having the power to predict the spread of diseases and implement strategies to protect our communities. Diseases do not take a break, so we have to get better at handling outbreaks. Nigeria has been grappling with outbreaks of infectious diseases for years, from periodic diseases of national priority to the Ebola outbreak in 2014 and the recent COVID-19 pandemic. These outbreaks threaten our health and impact our economy and development.
To reduce the burden of these emerging and re-emerging diseases on our nation, we launched the Strengthening Nigeria’s Capacity for Pandemic Preparedness (SNCaPP) training course, supported by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Nigeria and the European Union (EU). This training course focused on bringing together 24 technical experts in monitoring and evaluation, data management, surveillance and epidemiology, research, and statistics, from Nigeria’s two leading health institutions – the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research (NIMR) and the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC). Our goal was to turn them into health champions working to secure the health of communities across the nation.
The 2-part training course, which sought to equip these stakeholders with the necessary skills and knowledge to bolster disease surveillance and pandemic preparedness, was held between 4th and 17th December 2023. The sessions were anchored by experts with advanced skills in epidemiology and pandemic modeling and involved topics such as advanced knowledge of R for surveillance, key concepts and terminologies in statistical analysis, and emphasis on spatial epidemiology, mathematical modeling, and disease forecasting; which are vital for rapid decision-making during outbreaks.
We also created a community of practice to foster knowledge exchange and collaboration beyond the training course which is resulting in strengthened collaboration between NCDC and NIMR, paving the way for future joint efforts in disease research and response. For example, since the training course, colleagues from both institutions are using the Discord platform to exchange knowledge, provide mentoring and support, and solve problems relating to epidemic research and models.
Our collaboration with the UNDP and EU in Nigeria is in line with the national priorities on health and economics. “By directly assisting and training officials of the NCDC and NIMR, this initiative aims to fortify Nigeria’s defense against the invisible adversaries which are infectious diseases,” said Clare Henshaw, a representative of the UNDP. “As the emergence of infectious diseases poses not only a threat to public health but to the fabric of our economy and the way of life that we hold dear.”
Our participants also showed remarkable progress from the training with an increase of 50% in knowledge of pandemic modeling and the use of R software. Most rated the training sessions as excellent, highlighting the value of hands-on learning and group exercises. Commenting on the knowledge gained, Dr. Yahya Disu, Head of Risk Communications at the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention mentioned, “The pandemic modeling training was well conceived, planned, and executed. The choice of the facilitators and the uniqueness of the methodology made knowledge acquisition seamless and interesting. It is indeed an investment in the future of health security in Nigeria and beyond.”
Some also expressed a newfound appreciation for R software and its applications in research, while others expressed satisfaction with the interactive and practical sessions. “The hands-on exercises and case studies provided valuable opportunities to apply the concepts learned during the training to real-world scenarios. Also, more emphasis is placed on practical skills development, such as data visualization techniques and model interpretation strategies,” said Dr. Oba Abdulrasheed from the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research.
More importantly, the participants also found the training course useful for their everyday work and could see how to apply it to improve their evidence base and decision-making. “I will be able to place all our State COVID-19 data on R and finally analyze it. It was too large for Excel/Google Sheet and we could not keep it in one location. I hope we will also be able to do our state Sitrep on R with what I have learned” said a participant from the NCDC.
As we reflect on our journey, one thing is clear: together, we’re building a brighter future for Nigeria by boosting the health system and ensuring that our nation is disease-free. Relive the memories from this training course on our YouTube channel:
