Partnership to strengthen immunisation; The Kano State model

Kano State in Nigeria has implemented a strategy to increase the likelihood of children receiving necessary vaccinations to reduce cases of polio. The strategy, which included enhanced training on administering the vaccinations, taking the vaccines directly to homes and "collaboration between policy makers and traditional leaders," has resulted in no cases of polio for the last five years.

In early January, doctors at UW Medical Center began preparing for a coronavirus outbreak by transforming a research lab into a screening center for coronavirus that delivers results within a day. Now, coupled with a mobile clinic that allows for people to be tested from within the confines of their cars, the city has been able to test a large volume of people more safely than if they were being tested from within a hospital.

In light of a study published in BMC Medicine, authors Nancy Fullman and Alexandra Wollum take a deeper dive into Nigeria’s gains against polio and what they could mean for the country’s routine vaccine systems.

With rapid diagnostic tests, Nigerians with malaria symptoms can get a quicker diagnosis at a lower cost, especially in regions where lab-based testing is not available. The tests have made it easier to get a diagnosis in places where malaria is prevalent, but many Nigerians still don't know the tests are an option or choose to self-medicate due to lack of trust in the local health system.

In March when fewer than 100 coronavirus infections had been found in the U.K, researchers in Cambridge decided to begin sequencing coronavirus samples as part of an "unparalleled surveillance system for Covid" that could identify and track possible mutations or the virus. This effort – which involves labs sending leftover material from testing swabs to the researcher's genomics lab where they are stored and analyzed – has culminated in hundreds of thousands of genome sequences and "sounded an alarm for the world" about the new fast-spreading variant.

The UC Davis Medical Center in California is piloting an internal rapid test to more efficiently detect coronavirus. Although it is still in its early stages, the development is allowing the medical professionals to test 20 critically ill people per day and get results in-house, rather than taking crucial time to send the test to an external laboratory.

Health care can be hard to access for those in rural communities, so for one Arizona community, the Southeast Arizona Area Health Education Center partnered with the University of Arizona to bring health education to those that needed it. Focusing specifically on education addressing potential health concerns specific to this mostly farmworker community, the community center also "trains some locals as health promoters, or 'promotoras de salud,' to work as health educators and advocates."

What started out as a private phone line in a person's house to talk to people suffering from HIV/AIDS has now turned into a mobile e-health clinic that provides both education and medical support. The Medical Advocacy and Outreach Selma clinic aims to eliminate barriers, such as geographical location and stigma, for those with HIV/AIDS while also acting as a touchpoint for those with other primary and mental health care needs.

Access to medical resources improves the effectiveness of health centers. In the village of Fuka, in Nigeria’s Niger State, NGOs such as the RAiSE Foundation and TY Danjuma Foundation have stepped in to support the local Primary Health Centre (PHC). Multiple initiatives, including home visits and the distribution of mosquito nets, have built relationships with the community; the most successful aspects have been the Mama Kit, given free of charge to pregnant women at the PHC, and the donation of an emergency ambulatory tricycle.

Local public health infrastructure makes monitoring and responding to epidemic outbreaks possible. In Nigeria’s Kebbi state, The Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) operates Public Health Emergency Operation Centers (PHEOC), which serve as local nodes in the country’s battle against infectious disease. Each PHEOC coordinates with a local committee of leaders in identifying, isolating, and treating cases of infectious disease.