The Ogun State Government says it has tackled seven disease outbreaks in 2025 and is strengthening infection prevention and control (IPC) systems across its primary healthcare facilities to better manage future threats.
The state Commissioner for Health, Tomi Coker, disclosed this at the close-out of the Epidemic-Ready Primary Health Care (ERPHC) pilot project, implemented by the African Field Epidemiology Network (AFENET) with support from Resolve to Save Lives, in partnership with federal and state health agencies.
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The close-out meeting was held in Lagos on 17 December.
Mrs Coker, a specialist Obstetrician and Gynaecologist (O&G), described the intervention as an “eye opener” that has transformed how the state detects and responds to outbreaks, especially at the grassroots.
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“Before COVID-19, IPC was poorly understood and weakly implemented at the PHC level. When the pandemic came, we didn’t know what to do because we lacked the skills and capacity,” she said. “Today, anything that breaks out will be caught.”
Ogun is one of the states that battles disease outbreaks almost every year, according to data from the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC).
In 2025 alone, the state confirmed cases of Lassa fever and dealt with suspected Mpox and a recent cholera outbreak. Mrs Coker did not, however, list all seven disease outbreaks the state handled.
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From weak preparedness to early detection
Mrs Coker said the gains recorded under ERPHC have transformed Ogun’s outbreak response, enabling early detection and decentralised action at the local government level.
“Today, outbreaks are detected early, sometimes immediately at the point of entry into the state,” she said. “They don’t even come to my office anymore; I just send a message that they are responding.”
The commissioner explained that the decentralised approach has reduced costs, improved response time and limited the risks health workers face when travelling long distances during emergencies.
She said Ogun now operates three public health laboratories, including an industrial-scale facility, compared with having none before the intervention.
She added that dedicated disease surveillance officers now focus solely on surveillance rather than juggling clinical duties, while essential IPC commodities have been integrated into the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF) to ensure steady supplies to the state’s 525 primary health care centres.
“We deliberately avoided creating parallel systems,” Mrs Coker said. “We embedded everything into existing structures so that epidemic readiness can be sustained beyond this project.”
Why IPC at PHC level matters
The ERPHC pilot was born out of gaps exposed by COVID-19, when frontline facilities were underfunded and ill-prepared despite being the first point of contact for most Nigerians.
Since its inception in 2023, AFENET, with Resolve to Save Lives (RTSL), has worked with NCDC, the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), and health authorities in Ogun and Kano to strengthen epidemic readiness at the primary healthcare level.
The project focused on integrated IPC and Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response (IDSR) capacity building through training, mentorship and functional readiness assessments, while improving data use for decision-making and supporting the national IPC programme.
In his welcome remarks, AFENET Regional Director and Country Lead, Patrick Nguku, said the project’s pillars have proven effective and should be scaled nationally.
Mr Nguku urged stakeholders to advocate for more funding for PHC systems that can withstand infectious diseases, climate change, and future epidemics.
Giving an overview, AFENET’s Senior Epidemiologist, Moreen Kamateeka, said the ERPHC pilot supported 256 PHCs across Ogun and Kano, helping facilities maintain essential services while preventing, detecting, and responding to outbreaks.
She said health workers who once hesitated in the face of suspected cases can now confidently screen, triage, isolate and report, while protecting themselves and patients.
“This close-out is not the end, but the completion of a phase,” Ms Kamateeka said. “The momentum is already building for national scale-up.”
Kano building readiness at scale
While Ogun highlighted outbreak response, Kano State officials said the project has institutionalised IPC and surveillance across more than 1,300 PHCs.
The Director of Disease Control and Immunisation at the Kano State Primary Health Care Management Board (KSPHCMB), Habib Tijani, said COVID-19 exposed the fragility of the health system, when many secondary and tertiary facilities shut down and PHCs became the only point of care for communities.
“Our frontline workers didn’t know how to protect themselves,” he said. “That experience showed us the need to build epidemic readiness from the grassroots.”
Mr Tijani said the ERPHC project helped institutionalise IPC, surveillance, and early response at scale, citing the detection of a monkeypox case at a primary health care facility as evidence that community-level preparedness is achievable.
To sustain the gains, he said Kano has developed an IPC strategic plan, revived its IPC Technical Working Group, and strengthened surveillance through a network of 44 Disease Surveillance and Notification Officers and assistants, who now also serve as mentors to health workers.
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He added that the state has embedded ERPHC activities into its Annual Operational Plan, approving a N93 million budget for implementation, with a commitment to sustain funding in 2026.
It has also remodelled 187 PHCs to IPC standards with World Bank support.
Evidence of impact
Findings from the project’s impact evaluation, presented by IPC expert and AFENET epidemiologist Aisha Faruk, showed an improvement in facility readiness and IPC practices.
Ms Faruk said facility readiness scores rose from 60 per cent at baseline to 98 per cent at endline, while IPC scores improved from 65 per cent to 96 per cent.
She attributed the gains to continuous mentorship, simulation exercises and strong government ownership, noting improved confidence among health workers and more sustainable systems for surveillance and IPC.
She noted that there was widespread access to the online clinical IDSR and IPC course with over 14,000 healthcare workers enrolled, and coordinated multi-agency supervision.
Despite challenges such as human resource gaps, delayed laboratory feedback, and shortages of IPC supplies, Ms Faruk said the intervention increased healthcare worker confidence, improved case management, and established sustainable systems for infection prevention, surveillance, and data-driven decision-making at the sub-national level.
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