Creating a Better World with Information and Communication Technologies: Health Equity

When news broke on 23rd July 2014, that a case of the deadly virus Ebola had been confirmed in Lagos, home to about 21 million people and a major transportation hub, the World held its breath. If not contained, this virus could spread quickly killing a multitude of people around the World. By 15th October, cases of Ebola had been recorded around the World: Liberia reported 4249 cases with 2458 deaths, Sierra Leone reported 3252 cases with 1183 deaths, Guinea 1472 cases with 843 deaths, Nigeria reported 20 cases with 8 deaths, the USA reported 3 cases and 1 death, Spain and Senegal reported 1 case with no deaths (Qureshi et al, 2015). Nigeria was able to contain Ebola through concerted efforts in identifying, isolating and interviewing victims while using mobile signals to track potential threats. Using the latest Global Positioning System (GPS) technology, the Nigerians, with the help from the World Health Organization (WHO), were able to quickly trace contacts and map links between identified chains of transmission. Eventually, every single one of the country’s 20 confirmed cases was linked back to direct or indirect contact with the air traveler who brought Ebola to Lagos from Liberia on 20th July (Paddock, 2014; WHO, 2014). By 20th October, the WHO declared Nigeria “free of Ebola virus transmission.” The chains of transmission had been broken, because it has been exactly 42 days – double the maximum incubation period for Ebola virus disease – since the last infectious contact with a confirmed or probable case occurred (WHO, 2014). Some of most critical factors in Nigeria’s successful response were leadership, engagement by the Minister of Health and state government’s rapid response in establishing emergency coordination offices, identifying isolation centers in readiness for potential outbreaks, sensitizing their populations and working with federal authorities. There was coordination with private sector organizations like the Dangote Foundation that donated about a US$1 million towards the Emergency Operation Center in Lagos to cover its operational costs (Ikhuoria, 2015; Paddock, 2014; WHO, 2014). The use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in combatting the spread of this deadly virus was prevalent with the neighboring countries with infected populations collecting data, sharing, analyzing and putting it to use in identifying and treating victims. The national coordinator for the Ebola response used the information that the data management team was generating to provide accurate status updates on the outbreak. This information was also used to develop policies to prevent further outbreaks such as tighter border controls (Qureshi et al, 2015), which was one of the ways the notorious Ebola virus was prevented from becoming a major epidemic. In addition to data analysis and cell phone records to track suspected cases, social media, SMS platforms and radio played a key role in the sensitization of the public. This enabled messages on transportation, treatment testing and training of