eHealth Africa, in partnership with the Centre for Dryland Agriculture (CDA) at Bayero University Kano, has completed the pilot phase of a geospatial curriculum aimed at strengthening health service delivery in Kano State.
The initiative, supported by the Kano State Ministry of Health and the State Primary Health Care Board, is designed to enhance the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in health programmes.
It is also backed by the Umbrella Fund as part of efforts to institutionalise geospatial tools within the health sector.
The programme focuses on equipping frontline health workers, programme officers and planners with practical skills to collect, analyse and utilise location-based data for improved decision-making.
Experts say many health challenges are geographic in nature, affecting communities, facilities and hard-to-reach areas, yet decisions are often made without adequate spatial context.
The new curriculum aims to address this gap by integrating GIS into routine health service delivery, particularly in areas such as immunisation microplanning, disease surveillance and emergency response.
The four-day pilot training, held from March 4 to March 7 at the CDA, brought together 41 participants from government institutions and partner organisations.
Participants were trained at Basic, Intermediate and Advanced levels, covering areas such as map reading, GPS usage, digital data collection and spatial analysis.
Speaking, Project Manager at eHealth Africa, Comfort Audu, described the initiative as timely, noting that it brought together stakeholders from Ministries, Departments and Agencies, including National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, Veterinary Services and environmental bodies.
According to her, the collaboration reflects the growing importance of the One Health approach.
Also speaking, Victor Idakwo, Associate Manager, GIS and Data Analytics at eHealth Africa, said the project was developed to standardise geospatial training across organisations.
“Before now, geospatial training was done in silos. This initiative provides a unified platform for learning, delivered in partnership with an accredited Nigerian university,” he said.
He added that the approach would ensure synchronised and standardised capacity building across the sector.
On his part, Deputy Director at CDA, Prof. Murtala Mohammed Badamasi, said the university was committed to institutionalising the curriculum.
“We developed the curriculum jointly and are integrating it into courses offered by the Centre for Dryland Agriculture,” he said.
Badamasi added that the partnership demonstrated the value of collaboration between academia and non-governmental organisations in delivering practical solutions.
Some participants also commended the training.
A Data Analyst at the State Emergency Operations Centre, Bashir Abubakar Abdullahi, said the programme had improved his understanding of data usage.
“Geospatial data now has greater meaning. It helps in identifying where to allocate resources and monitoring disease hotspots,” he said.
Similarly, Kasim Ibrahim of NAFDAC said the training exposed him to modern tools beyond traditional data collection methods.
“Previously, we relied on paper-based methods prone to errors, but now we can generate more accurate data to support field activities,” he said.
eHealth Africa is a non-profit organisation focused on strengthening health systems across Africa through data-driven solutions, with operations in 24 countries.
The CDA of Bayero University Kano is a research and training institution dedicated to innovation and capacity building across critical development sectors.