The United States has called on Nigeria to adopt more robust, integrated, and collaborative data systems as a critical step toward strengthening preparedness for future pandemics and public health emergencies.
This recommendation was presented in a progress report on the INFORM Africa project — a five-year initiative funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) under the Data Science for Health Discovery and Innovation in Africa (DS-I Africa) programme. The report was unveiled at the INFORM Africa Stakeholders’ Engagement Meeting held on Tuesday, where government agencies, health experts, and researchers convened to assess the project’s progress.
The project, led by the Institute of Human Virology Nigeria (IHVN), aims to improve outbreak response and public health decision-making by promoting the use of population-scale, integrated data systems and digital tools like the REVEAL Platform and the Place Resilience Index.
Alash’le Abimiku, executive director of the International Research Center of Excellence at IHVN and Principal Investigator of the project, expressed concerns that despite advances in data collection, significant challenges persist in Nigeria’s ability to harness data effectively for public health action.
“It took almost two years just to clean and harmonize the data due to reluctance to sharing and the poor quality of available datasets. There’s a culture of fear and fragmentation, but we must move towards openness, standardization, and collaboration if we want to be prepared for the next pandemic”, she said.
Abimiku stressed the need for government agencies to move away from siloed data collection efforts and instead adopt a unified system that can provide a holistic view of public health dynamics across diseases and sectors.
“In developed countries, doctors and health agencies rely on real-time data to make informed decisions. That’s what we need to replicate here. Data is not an abstract concept — it is the foundation of life-saving policies”, she added.
In a goodwill message, Zubaida Umar, director-feneral of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), emphasized the critical role data plays in strengthening Nigeria’s emergency response architecture.
“As we face increasingly complex public health threats, data has become a vital tool. The ability to collect, analyze, and apply real-time data in decision-making is central to effective preparedness and response,” she said.
Umar highlighted the importance of community collaboration through structures like the Community Advisory Board (CAB), which promotes inclusivity and local ownership values shared by NEMA in its emergency response work.
“We reaffirm our commitment to partnerships that strengthen national emergency management. We’re open to collaboration, knowledge sharing, and technical synergy with stakeholders across health, research, and development sectors,” she added.
Similarly, Temitope Ilori, director general, National Agency for the Control of AIDS represented by Ronke Adeoye, chief programme Officer, reiterated NACA’s commitment to leveraging data not only for HIV/AIDS control but also for broader health system strengthening and outbreak preparedness.
“Resilience is not the absence of risk, it is the presence of preparedness. Together, through platforms like INFORM Africa, we can turn data into action and challenges into opportunities”, she further said.
