Decentralised Database Makes Disease Tracking, Monitoring Difficult – Expert
A Public Health expert, Dr. Gabriel Adakole, said the absence of a centralised database makes it difficult to accurately track and monitor the spread of the disease.
He also said that this hinders effective response and prevention efforts in the country.
“The Nigeria Centre for Disease and Prevention Control (NCDC) performs all functions related to data management (acquisition, archiving, inventorying, and quality assessments), data synthesis (climate description, monitoring, modelling, and prediction), and data and information dissemination and publication.
“The World Health Organisation (WHO) is responsible for providing leadership on global health matters; shaping the health research agenda, setting norms and standards; articulating evidence-based policy options; providing technical support to countries and monitoring and assessing health trends.
“The Federal Ministry of Health is to develop and implement policies that strengthen the national health system for effective, efficient, accessible and affordable delivery of health services in partnership with other stakeholders,” he explained.
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Continuing, he said, “These agencies have reported different data from the ongoing diphtheria outbreak in the country”.
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A virologist and Chairman of the Board of Biovaccines Nigeria Limited, Professor Oyewale Tomori, said that data was vital in public health emergencies because it enables early detection, informed decision-making, resource allocation, planning, monitoring, and effective communication.
He said that having access to accurate and timely data enhances the ability to respond to emergencies, save lives, and protect communities.
According to him, “Many more outbreaks will come, because when the diphtheria outbreak was first reported in May 2022, over a year ago, we, as usual, did practically nothing about it.”
The professor said that improving the collection and reporting of diphtheria data was crucial for effectively combating the disease in the country.
“By addressing this issue, authorities can enhance their ability to respond to outbreaks, allocate resources efficiently, and protect the population from the spread of diphtheria,” he added.
