Inagbe resort, Lagos was the venue for a three (3) day joint leadership and management retreat for staff and donors of NSTOP which was held on November 13-15, 2017.Dr. Ndadilnasiya Waziri, NSTOP National Coordinator, led the event which was attended by AFENET Nigeria Country Representative, Dr Patrick Nguku; US CDC Country Director, Dr Mahesh; US CDC Nigeria Polio Team Lead/GID, Eric Weisen; US CDC Director of Immunization, Dr.Bolu Omotayo; other US CDC representatives and all NSTOP staff. The retreat was divided into 3 segments: technical, management and operations, and capacity building, which brought participants abreast with work done and achievements recorded in the various sections from 2012 till date.
Presently,NSTOP is implementing activities in Surveillance, Polio, Borno and Lake Chad, Routine Immunization (RI), District Health Information System2 (DHIS2), Measles and Training. Although NSTOP has presence in all the states of the country including Abuja, projects are implemented in states based on identified gaps. The retreat which had over nine (9) presentations and group works, reminded participants on the importance of accountability and harmonization of activities: work done should commensurate outcome. Successes can only be achieved when great individuals work as a team.
For a formidable team to be formed and as public health implementers who are rarely accorded the credit they deserve but only remembered during outbreaks, our focus should be on outcome and not on credit. Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa, with a projected population of over 184 million of which 36.4 million are children under 5, has a Routine Immunization coverage of 33% as revealed by the recently released Multi Indicator Coverage Survey and National Immunization Cluster Survey (MICS/NICS) . NSTOP, a key partner in RI has rolled up its sleeves and is leaving no stone unturned by ensuring all staff are actively involved in supporting the government to implement activities that will yield the desired result.