CDC and Nigeria Partner to Respond to COVID-19

Print
Related Pages

Summary

  • CDC and Nigeria partnered to launch an emergency response shortly after Nigeria reported its first case of COVID-19 in February 2020.
  • Work included scaling up laboratories and supporting emergency operations centers to inform public health efforts and policies to help save lives during the pandemic.
Photo of a health worker taking a COVID-19 sample from a patient through the nostrils to test for COVID-19 at the Central Public Health Laboratories Yaba Lagos, Nigeria.

Nigeria reported the country’s first case of COVID-19 on February 27, 2020. Nigeria’s federal government quickly launched a response using existing public health infrastructure. The mission of the public health response was to minimize deaths and slow the spread of the virus. Photo credit: Godwin Oisi/CDC

Two photos of about 12 people sitting around a table with laptop computers during a national Emergency Operations Center (EOC) meeting at the Nigeria Center for Disease Control in Abuja, Nigeria.
Two photos of about 12 people sitting around a table with laptop computers during a national Emergency Operations Center (EOC) meeting at the Nigeria Center for Disease Control in Abuja, Nigeria.

To respond to COVID-19, the government of Nigeria worked with U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and partners to leverage existing resources from CDC- supported HIV and tuberculosis programs. National and local emergency operations centers coordinated case investigations, COVID-19 testing, data analysis, and strategy recommendations to control the pandemic. Photo credit: Godwin Oisi/CDC

Photo of an ultra-cold freezer with CDC logo and latch to keep it closed and a photo of a laboratory equipment storage container.

CDC worked with federal and state governments to scale up laboratories in Nigeria for the COVID-19 response. CDC donated this ultra-low temperature freezer to safely store samples. Photo credit: Godwin Oisi/CDC

Photo of a field healthcare worker (left) delivering COVID-19 samples to the Kaduna State Dantosho Memorial Hospital molecular laboratory.

CDC provided funding to establish molecular laboratories in Nigeria. Most molecular tests for the virus that causes COVID-19 use a process called real-time reverse transcriptase quantitative polymerase chain reaction rRT-PCR to detect infection. Laboratories like the Yusuf Dan Tsoho Memorial Hospital, have the capacity to process samples from COVID-19 tests. Photo credit: Godwin Oisi/CDC

Photo of public health workers processing COVID-19 samples at the Central Public Health Lab in Lagos, Nigeria.

In collaboration with partners, CDC provided laboratory workforce trainings which led to an increase in the volume of COVID-19 samples tested. These trainings, paired with staff’s ability to use molecular laboratory equipment, increased the quality of results. Photo credit: Godwin Oisi/CDC

Photo of laboratory workers receiving COVID-19 samples from the field for PCR testing at the Kaduna State Dantosho Memorial Hospital molecular laboratory.

Collaboration between Nigeria and the U.S. improved the COVID-19 pandemic response in the country. CDC investments will help prepare Nigeria for the next public health emergency. Photo credit: Godwin Oisi/CDC