Conference Abstract | Volume 8, Abstract ELIC202585 (Poster 149) | Published:  11 Aug 2025

Leveraging private sector community health providers to improve outbreak preparedness, prevention and response: Lessons from the IntegratE Project in Nigeria

Delafrida Ukaga1,&, Michael Alagbile1, Emeka Okafor1, Kenechukwu Eruchalu1

1Society for Family Health, Abuja, Nigeria

&Corresponding author: Delafrida Ukaga, Society for Family Health, Abuja, Nigeria Email: dukaga@sfhnigeria.org

Received: 24  Mar 2025, Accepted: 09 Jul 2025, Published: 11 Aug 2025

Domain: Infectious Disease Epidemiology

This is part of the Proceedings of the ECOWAS 2nd Lassa fever International Conference in Abidjan, September 8 – 11, 2025

Keywords: community engagement, private sector providers, Community pharmacists, patent and proprietary medicine vendors, Lassa fever

©Delafrida Ukaga et al. Journal of Interventional Epidemiology and Public Health (ISSN: 2664-2824). This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution International 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Cite this article: Delafrida Ukaga et al., Leveraging private sector community health providers to improve outbreak preparedness, prevention and response: Lessons from the IntegratE Project in Nigeria. Journal of Interventional Epidemiology and Public Health. 2025;8(Conf Proc 5):00293. https://doi.org/10.37432/JIEPH-CONFPRO5-00293

Introduction

Community engagement is critical in promoting awareness, dispelling myths, and strengthening outbreak preparedness and response.  In Nigerian communities, private sector providers, particularly Community Pharmacists (CPs) and Patent and Proprietary Medicine Vendors (PPMVs) serve as the first point of healthcare contact. The IntegratE project, implemented by Society for Family Health, has trained and supported them to deliver quality family planning (FP) and primary healthcare (PHC) services. This study explores how lessons from the IntegratE private sector model can be adapted to empower communities in preventing and responding to Lassa fever and other viral hemorrhagic fevers outbreak.

Methods

The IntegratE project adopted a multi-layered approach involving capacity building, demand generation, and strategic community engagement in 11 Nigerian States from 2017 to 2024. Over 5,200 CPs and PPMVs were trained in interpersonal communication, counseling, referral, health promotion and data reporting, particularly in FP and maternal-child health services. This abstract proposes the adaptation of these methodology particularly the role of trusted CPs and PPMVs to Lassa fever prevention through early warning systems, community-based surveillance, counselling and targeted risk communication.

Results

Evidence from the IntegratE project indicates increased FP awareness and uptake, improved health-seeking behavior, reduced misconceptions and growing trust in private sector healthcare providers among underserved populations. Over 834,523 women accessed FP through these trained providers with about 33% (274,013) being new clients, who may not have accessed FP if the providers were not trained. Also, over 551,306 children seen for various PHC services including malaria, pneumonia, diarrhea, tuberculosis and malnutrition.

Conclusion

The IntegratE project demonstrates that empowering trusted private sector providers can improve community health outcomes. Integrating CPs and PPMVs into Lassa fever response frameworks can enhance early detection, promote timely disease reporting, encourage behavioral change, improve community engagement, reduce Lassa fever myths and stigma and contribute to more resilient health systems. 

 

 

 
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Keywords

  • Community engagement
  • Private sector providers
  • Community pharmacists
  • Patent and proprietary medicine vendors
  • Lassa fever
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