From Novice to Software Engineer: Muflihat’s Transformative Experience with eHA Academy

By Favour Oriaku

Introduction:

In today’s digital era, technology plays a pivotal role in addressing local challenges and improving communities’ well-being. Recognizing this, eHealth Africa (eHA) has taken on the mission to share knowledge and empower the next generation of tech enthusiasts in Africa. With over a decade of experience in developing and deploying digital solutions across the continent, eHA established the eHA Academy, a training arm that has been at the forefront of equipping aspiring individuals with software development skills for over four years now. In this blog post, we’ll delve into the transformative journey of Muflihat Abdulmajid, a graduate of the eHA Academy, and how the program paved the way for a promising career in software engineering.

Unveiling the eHA Academy:

eHA Academy is a renowned program that offers free training to individuals throughout Africa, irrespective of their technical background. The program’s primary focus is to equip participants with the necessary skills to create digital solutions that contribute to healthier communities. Spanning nine months, the program consists of two phases: three months of intensive in-class live sessions followed by a six-month internship. By combining engaging live sessions, videos, challenging assignments, and practical projects, students acquire both theoretical knowledge and real-world experience, setting them on the path to success.

Muflihat’s Transformational Journey:

Muflihat Abdulmajid’s story exemplifies the transformative impact of the eHA Academy. Initially skeptical due to a lack of computer science or engineering background, Muflihat hesitated to apply for the program. However, after realizing that a technical background was not a prerequisite, Muflihat took the leap of faith and applied, securing a spot in the cohort.

Reflecting on the training experience, Muflihat shared, “At first, it was quite fierce and challenging because I didn’t have a computer background. However, the small wins of completing a challenging task and the support from fellow students kept me motivated.” The rigorous curriculum, comprising live sessions, videos, and assignments, pushed Muflihat beyond her comfort zone, helping her develop a strong foundation in HTML, CSS, and Javascript.

Internship and Career Opportunities:

The journey didn’t end with the completion of the eHA Academy program. Muflihat’s dedication and newfound skills led to an internship offer from eHealth Africa’s software department. This internship proved to be an invaluable opportunity to apply the knowledge gained during the program and work alongside experienced software developers. Muflihat recalls, “The internship sharpened my skills further and opened the door to a full-time role as an associate software engineer within the software department at eHealth Africa.”

The Impact and Gratitude:

Muflihat’s testimonial is a testament to eHA Academy’s transformative impact on aspiring tech enthusiasts. “The eHA Academy course was the birth of my career as a software engineer,” Muflihat shares. “The joy and fulfillment I now have, being part of a team building software solutions for public health interventions here at eHealth Africa, is compared to none.”

Muflihat expresses gratitude to the eHA Academy team, mentors, and tutors for their dedicated efforts in shaping her professional journey. “I will forever be grateful to the eHA Academy team, the mentors and tutors who have put in effort in shaping me into who I have now become and for grooming young Africans in the tech ecosystem.”

Conclusion:

eHA Academy’s commitment to empowering the next generation of tech enthusiasts in Africa has led to remarkable success stories like that of Muflihat Abdulmajid. By providing free training, bridging the gap between theoretical knowledge and practical experience, and fostering career opportunities, the program serves as a vital stepping stone for aspiring tech enthusiasts. Through eHA Academy, eHealth Africa continues to nurture young African talent, enabling them to make significant contributions to their communities and beyond.

Tackling Nigeria’s Zero Dose Challenge: The Final Push with Geospatial Tracking

By Nnenna Ohiaeri

Introduction

In 2020, Nigeria was declared wild polio-free after meeting the requirements to attain the status, which includes 3 years without any new cases of wild poliovirus in the country1. Prior to achieving this milestone, Nigeria was one of only three countries in the wild with endemic wild polio. GIS (Geographic Information System) tracking was first implemented in Nigeria’s Polio program in 2012 with eHA’s Vaccination Tracking project (VTS). VTS was decommissioned in 2020, just after Nigeria was declared Polio free. 

Our Intervention

Since 2022, eHA has been providing GIS tracking support to the polio outbreak campaigns in security-compromised locations with the Polio Special Intervention project, which is part of a key focus area of eHA – Public Health Emergency Response Systems. The purpose of this project is to support the efforts to improve the Polio outbreak response in Nigeria, with a focus on circulating variant poliovirus type 2, cVPV2, using the new Geospatial Tracking System (GTS) application to track vaccination teams. 

“Special Intervention”, in this context, refers to the security-compromised nature of the implementing states. Due to banditry, kidnapping, and terrorism, several settlements in these states are either inaccessible or partially accessible. Vaccine-eligible children residing in these areas are denied access to their necessary vaccinations such as the Polio vaccine due to the insecurity posed by these activities. Accessing these communities means reaching the missed children and protecting the communities from disease outbreaks and securing a truly polio-free Nigeria. The project is being implemented in 57 local government areas (LGAs) with security-compromised settlements, in 7 priority states- Kaduna, Katsina, Kebbi, Niger, Sokoto, Yobe, and Zamfara. 

Geospatial Tracking System (GTS) was introduced by Novel-T after the decommissioning of the VTS application. The GTS application is a “lightweight” version of the VTS and was first piloted in Borno State in 2020 and is currently being used on this Polio Special Intervention project.

The GTS application is used to monitor vaccination teams and report daily missed settlements based on the DIPs (daily implementation plans) of a campaign. The process flow is displayed below:

Results

Since the inception of the project, the eHA-led activity has had a significant impact on the polio campaign implementation. Between September 2022 to May 2023, eHA has supported 66 LGAs with GIS tracking across the 7 implementing states. 3,953 settlements with vaccine-eligible children have been verified to have been visited by the vaccination teams during 2 rounds of polio campaign implementation in the states, using GTS trackers, and 1,664 vaccination teams were tracked during the campaigns. 

Field technical teams were deployed to each implementing LGA to support the campaign. 66 LGA consultants were trained on the administration and operation of the GTS application.  The consultants built the capacity of the LGA team on GIS tracking with trainings on GTS and the handling of the trackers. This was necessary to make sure that the vaccination teams are fully equipped and knowledgeable enough to successfully implement GIS tracking during the campaigns. Data collection activities were also conducted during the campaigns to obtain the geo-coordinates of settlements that are not on the Polio geodatabase (GDB). 69 data collectors were trained on the use of the KoboCollect application to collect geo-coordinate data in the field. This data collection ensured that the visitation of the planned settlements by the vaccination teams could be verified.

Conclusion

GIS tracking has helped increase vaccination coverage throughout the 7 priority states where it was implemented. In addition to increased coverage, GIS tracking also provided data-driven insights for decision-making. It increases the quality of campaign implementation and improves accountability, by validating the tally sheet reports generated by the vaccination teams. GIS tracking can be utilized beyond polio programming to support other vaccination initiatives by improving vaccination coverage and in turn, boosting Nigeria’s immunization indices.

Engagement meeting with the Niger State Primary Health Care Development Agency team
L-R : Basheerdeen Abdullahi (eHA State Coordinator), Mohammed Alhaji Usman (State Health Educator), Abubakar Shehu (Program Manager, eHA), Kpantus Abubakar (State Immunization Officer), and Nnenna Ohiaeri (Project Manager, eHA)