Preparing for the next respiratory pathogen pandemic: using tabletop simulation exercises to strengthen national planning in Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Lebanon and Mongolia.

The Preparedness and Resilience for Emerging Threats (PRET) initiative takes an innovative mode-of-transmission approach to pandemic planning by advocating for integrated preparedness and response systems and capacities for groups of pathogens with common transmission pathways. The World Health Organization (WHO) launched this initiative in 2023 with the publication of PRET Module 1 addressing respiratory pathogens. Exercise PanPRET-1 is a customizable tabletop simulation exercise (TTX) package developed to complement PRET Module 1.

Investing in health preparedness, response and resilience: a genomics costing tool focused on next generation sequencing.

The world has seen unprecedented gains in the global genomic surveillance capacities for pathogens with pandemic and epidemic potential within the last 4 years. To strengthen and sustain the gains made, WHO is working with countries and partners to implement the Global Genomic Surveillance Strategy for Pathogens with Pandemic and Epidemic Potential 2022-2032. A key technical product developed through these multi-agency collaborative efforts is a genomics costing tool (GCT), as sought by many countries.

Human Papillomavirus Vaccination amongst Students in a Tertiary Institution in North Central Nigeria: A Cross-sectional Study on Sociodemographic Factors Associated with Its Awareness, Uptake and Willingness to Pay.

Background: Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine is effective in averting 70%-90% of all HPV-related diseases. The assessment of its awareness, uptake and willingness to pay (WTP) is important in Nigeria which is one of the developing countries where more than three-quarter of the global burden of HPV-related diseases occur. This study aimed to determine the sociodemographic factors associated with the awareness, uptake and WTP for HPV vaccine amongst undergraduates in a tertiary institution in North Central Nigeria.

The effectiveness of an m-Health intervention on the sexual and reproductive health of in-school adolescents: a cluster randomized controlled trial in Nigeria.

Background: The implementation of the country-wide comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) curriculum among in-school adolescents remains abysmally low and mHealth-based interventions are promising. We assessed the effect of a mHealth-based CSE on the sexual and reproductive health (SRH) knowledge, attitude and behaviour of in-school adolescents in Ilorin, northcentral Nigeria.

Methods: Using schools as clusters, 1280 in-school adolescents were randomised into intervention and control groups.

Influences of community engagement and health system strengthening for cholera control in cholera reporting countries.

The 2030 Global Task Force on Cholera Control Roadmap hinges on strengthening the implementation of multistranded cholera interventions, including community engagement and health system strengthening. However, a composite picture of specific facilitators and barriers for these interventions and any overlapping factors existing between the two, is lacking. Therefore, this study aims to address this shortcoming, focusing on cholera-reporting countries, which are disproportionately affected by cholera and may be cholera endemic.

Strengthening pathogen genomic surveillance for health emergencies: insights from the World Health Organization's regional initiatives.

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic triggered a rapid scale-up in the use of genomic surveillance as a pandemic preparedness and response tool. As a result, the number of countries with in-country SARS-CoV-2 genomic sequencing capability increased by 40% from February 2021 to July 2022. The Global Genomic Surveillance Strategy for Pathogens with Pandemic and Epidemic Potential 2022-2032 was launched by the World Health Organization (WHO) in March 2022 to bring greater coherence to ongoing work to strengthen genomic surveillance.

Caregiving in a tertiary health institution in North Central Nigeria: Support types and financial burden.

Background: Caregivers play an important role in informal patient management. Identification of the support types and the financial challenges faced by caregivers will provide information on strategies to ease this burden. This study aimed to describe the support types and financial burden amongst caregivers in a tertiary hospital in North Central Nigeria.

COVID-19 mortality rate and its associated factors during the first and second waves in Nigeria.

COVID-19 mortality rate has not been formally assessed in Nigeria. Thus, we aimed to address this gap and identify associated mortality risk factors during the first and second waves in Nigeria. This was a retrospective analysis of national surveillance data from all 37 States in Nigeria between February 27, 2020, and April 3, 2021.

A scoping review of facilitators and barriers influencing the implementation of surveillance and oral cholera vaccine interventions for cholera control in lower- and middle-income countries.

Background: Cholera still affects millions of people worldwide, especially in lower- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The Global Task Force on Cholera Control (GTFCC) has identified surveillance and oral cholera vaccines as two critical interventions to actualise the global roadmap goals-reduction of cholera-related deaths by 90% and decreasing the number of cholera endemic countries by half by 2030. Therefore, this study aimed to identify facilitators and barriers to implementing these two cholera interventions in LMIC settings.

Risk communication during health emergencies in Nigeria: What are its challenges?

Although globalization has been advantageous in facilitating the free movement of people, goods, and services, the ease of movement of cross-border pathogens has increased the risk of international public health emergencies in recent years. Risk communication is an integral part of every country's response during public health emergencies such as the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. To effectively increase adherence to guidelines during health emergencies, it is essential to understand the impact of social, cultural, political, and environmental factors on people's behaviours and lifestyles in any given context, as well as how these factors influence people's perception of risks.

SARS-CoV-2 variants-associated outbreaks of COVID-19 in a tertiary institution, North-Central Nigeria: Implications for epidemic control.

The COVID-19 global pandemic is being driven by evolving SARS-CoV-2 variants with consequential implications on virus transmissibility, host immunity, and disease severity. Continuous molecular and genomic surveillance of the SARS-CoV-2 variants is therefore necessary for public health interventions toward the management of the pandemic. This study is a retrospective analysis of COVID-19 cases reported in a Nigerian tertiary institution from July to December 2021.

Epidemiology, diagnostics and factors associated with mortality during a cholera epidemic in Nigeria, October 2020-October 2021: a retrospective analysis of national surveillance data.

Objectives: Nigeria reported an upsurge in cholera cases in October 2020, which then transitioned into a large, disseminated epidemic for most of 2021. This study aimed to describe the epidemiology, diagnostic performance of rapid diagnostic test (RDT) kits and the factors associated with mortality during the epidemic.

Design: A retrospective analysis of national surveillance data.

Public risk perception and behaviours towards COVID-19 during the first and second waves in Nigeria: a secondary data analysis.

Objectives: To describe changes in public risk perception and risky behaviours during the first wave (W1) and second wave (W2) of COVID-19 in Nigeria, associated factors and observed trend of the outbreak.

Design: A secondary data analysis of cross-sectional telephone-based surveys conducted during the W1 and W2 of COVID-19 in Nigeria.

Setting: Nigeria.

Prevalence and determinants of stress of informal caregiving: A cross-sectional study among informal caregivers of hospitalised patients in a tertiary hospital in Nigeria.

Background: Caring for patients in the hospital can cause a lot of stress for the caregivers, especially those who are involved with informal caregiving such as family members. Little is known in Nigeria on the stress of informal caregiving in the hospital environment. This study assessed the informal caregivers' stress level and their determinants in a tertiary hospital in Ilorin, Nigeria.

Epidemiological comparison of the first and second waves of the COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria, February 2020-April 2021.

Background: With reports of surges in COVID-19 case numbers across over 50 countries, country-level epidemiological analysis is required to inform context-appropriate response strategies for containment and mitigation of the outbreak. We aimed to compare the epidemiological features of the first and second waves of COVID-19 in Nigeria.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of the Surveillance Outbreak Response Management and Analysis System data of the first and second epidemiological waves, which were between 27 February and 24 October 2020, and 25 October 2020 to 3 April 2021, respectively.

Building local capacity for emergency coordination: establishment of subnational Public Health Emergency Operations Centres in Nigeria.

Public Health Emergency Operations Centres (PHEOCs) provide a platform for multisectoral coordination and collaboration, to enhance the efficiency of outbreak response activities and enable the control of disease outbreaks. Over the last decade, PHEOCs have been introduced to address the gaps in outbreak response coordination. With its tropical climate, high population density and poor socioeconomic indicators, Nigeria experiences large outbreaks of infectious diseases annually.

Assessing the capacity of symptom scores to predict COVID-19 positivity in Nigeria: a national derivation and validation cohort study.

Objectives: This study aimed to develop and validate a symptom prediction tool for COVID-19 test positivity in Nigeria.

Design: Predictive modelling study.

Setting: All Nigeria States and the Federal Capital Territory.

Peritonitis following unsafe abortion: a retrospective study in a tertiary health facility in North Central Nigeria.

Introduction: surgical complications following unsafe abortion (UA) are not uncommon and are associated with high morbidity and mortality in developing countries. The commonest need for the general surgeon following UA is after a diagnosis of peritonitis which can occur following use of sharp objects introduced through the vagina. This study aims to highlight the presentation, management types and outcome of patients who presented with peritonitis following UA.

Lassa Fever: An Evolving Emergency in West Africa.

Lassa fever remains endemic in parts of West Africa and continues to pose as a quiescent threat globally. We described the background on Lassa fever, factors contributing to its emergence and spread, preventive measures, and potential solutions. This review provides a holistic and comprehensive source for academicians, clinicians, researchers, policymakers, infectious disease epidemiologists, virologists, and other stakeholders.

COVID-19 pandemic: A global health burden.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic began in China with a group of severe pneumonia cases, later identified to be caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 in December 2019. Thailand reported the first COVID-19 case outside of China on 13 January 2020, Africa reported its first case in Egypt on 14 February 2020 and Nigeria reported its index case of COVID-19 on 27 February 2020. Virtually, all countries in the world are affected, with over 5 million cases reported globally.