Development and Implementation of a Public Health Event Management System, Nigeria, 2018-2024

Area of Science:

• Public health surveillance
• Epidemic intelligence systems
• Health informatics

Background:

• Event management systems (EMS) are crucial for epidemic intelligence but lack international development standards.
• Effective EMS are needed to integrate surveillance data and guide incident response.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the development and implementation of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) SITAware EMS.
• To highlight SITAware's capabilities in low-bandwidth environments for real-time public health surveillance.

Main Methods:

• SITAware was co-created with local institutional ownership and integrated into existing workflows at low cost.
• The software generates notifications, reports, and spatiotemporal dashboards with event-level data.
• It was designed for low-internet bandwidth conditions.

Main Results:

• SITAware was successfully used by the NCDC to manage approximately 300 incidents in 2022.
• The NCDC implemented SITAware subnationally, demonstrating its scalability.
• The system provides real-time accountability and supports post-event learning.

Conclusions:

• The NCDC's SITAware demonstrates a viable model for developing and implementing EMS in resource-limited settings.
• Local ownership and co-creation are key factors for successful EMS adoption in public health.
• This experience can inform future EMS development and implementation globally.