eHealth Africa, a non-governmental organization dedicated to strengthening health systems through data-driven solutions, is collaborating with the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) to deploy Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in the fight against Vaccine Derived Polio (VDP) in Nigeria.
eHealth Africa’s GIS-powered approach utilizes meticulous data collection and tracking mechanisms to transform Nigeria’s vast landscape into a detailed map, guiding health workers to every settlement, regardless of its remoteness.
Over 11,000 vaccination teams were tracked during three phases of the novel fIPV+nOPV (fIPV and nOPV are two types of vaccines that can be used against polio) campaign across ten states: Borno, FCT, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Niger, Sokoto, and Zamfara.
Over 50,000 settlements were confirmed visited by vaccination teams using the Geospatial Tracking System (GTS). The update to the Master List of Settlements (MLoS) for six states (Kaduna, Katsina, Kebbi, Niger, Sokoto, and Zamfara) resulted in the collection of 31,000 geo-coordinates between May and September 2023, increasing the percentage of settlements with geo-coordinates from 55.13% at baseline to an impressive 93.05%.
Dr. Kabir Suleiman, from the Katsina State Primary Health Care Development Agency, said, “GIS tools enable close monitoring of campaigns, which is instrumental in ensuring the success of our activities.”
Mainasara Ambayya, a State Immunization Officer in Zamfara State, said, “Before the introduction of the GTS project, we faced significant difficulties in tracking our teams during Supplementary Immunization Activities (SIAs). The introduction of these trackers has provided us with valuable insights into the settlements addressed and the extent of coverage.”
Aliyu Abdullahi, a Local Immunization Officer in Zamfara State, said, “The updated master list of settlements has enabled us to identify numerous settlements in Gusau that were previously unknown. After the master list of settlements was updated, the LGA successfully identified approximately 80 new settlements in Gusau LGA.”
GTS Powering Innovation
The GTS project stands as a testament to the power of innovation, the strength of human resolve, and the unwavering belief that polio can be eradicated. Through the fusion of technology and humanity, eHealth Africa and its partners are not just contributing to the eradication of polio; they are paving the way for global health security and resilience, one vaccination, one child, one geo-coordinate at a time.
This initiative aims to eradicate Circulating Vaccine-Derived Poliovirus Type 2 (cVPV2) by ensuring that no child or settlement is missed during vaccination campaigns.
A vaccine-derived poliovirus (VDPV) is a strain related to the weakened live poliovirus contained in oral polio vaccine (OPV). If allowed to circulate in under or unimmunized populations for long enough the weakened virus can revert to a form that causes illness and paralysis.
VDPVs emerge when not enough people are vaccinated against polio, and the weakened strain of the poliovirus from OPV spreads among under-immunized populations.
