A recent study by a member of AUN's Natural and Environmental Sciences (NES) faculty, Professor Malachy Ifeanyi Okeke, has identified Nigeria's "containment and mitigation measures" against COVID-19 as a likely reason for the "mild and moderate" spread of the virus in the country.
The study offered qualified approval for Nigeria's Covid-19 response measures. The study applauds the totality of policy, logistical, clinical, and non-pharmaceutical measures implemented by the Government of Nigeria as possibly having a direct impact on the country's relatively low Covid-19 fatalities and socioeconomic disruptions. But there were many challenges, such as the absence of geo-mapping and electronic contact tracing capacity, and priority COVID-19 testing policy adopted by the government due to scarcity of sufficient testing resources and efficient laboratory networks. There was also the lack of structural framework to address infodemics and the dearth of national research policy on pandemic preparedness, among others.
The article, "A Critical Evaluation of Nigeria's Response to the First Wave of COVID-19" is published in the Bulletin of the National Research Center, a Springer Nature Journal (DOAJ and Pubmed Indexed). The study is a collaboration between Professor Okeke, who is the lead author, and Mr. Ezekiel Jacobs, the first author. Mr. Jacobs, a researcher from the Department of Microbiology, University of Ibadan, served as an intern in Professor Okeke's biology lab at AUN.
AUN's Assistant Professor of Biology, Dr. Okeke, has published highly authoritative studies on Covid-19 in peer-reviewed journals and national newspapers. He regularly provides insight and scientific perspectives on the evolution, management, and impact of Covid-19 to the public on Gotel Radio and Television programs.
Please find below the link to the publication:
https://bnrc.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s42269-022-00729-9