PROFILE OF A 'GAVI' CONSULTANT ON ROUTINE IMMUNIZATION, Nigeria (Dr. Uzodinma Adirieje)

My name is Dr. Uzodinma Adirieje. I was the GAVI Consultant for routine immunization (RI) in Imo State during 2012-2014 under the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), during which he also promoted the elimination of FGM/C and child health protection and preservation. During this period, I covered/visited 250 (two hundred and fifty) community-based PHCs/health facilities, trained and provided supportive supervision to Nurses, Midwives, Village Health Workers, Community Health Extension Workers (CHEWs), Community Health Workers and community leaders in Imo State’s 27 (twenty seven) LGAs; and thereby directly provided technical assistance and supported/reached 4,860 health workers and stakeholders in the State in the routine immunization services delivery, data management, cold chain system and immunization waste management. Several non-facility-based LGA and State MoH officials were also provided with technical assistance, to enable them perform their supervisory duties within the State and LGA health systems in the course of this assignment. This contributed immensely to the improvement in maternal newborn and child health reported in the State during this period.

 
I am a member of the civil society constituency of the World Health Organization. Previously, I was also a member of the National Technical Committee for the Final Drafting of Nigeria’s Health Systems Strengthening Funding/Support Proposal/Application to the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI), 2007. I was an Evaluator/Assessor for the Data Quality Self-assessment (DQS) of routine immunization (RI) in Njaba LGA of Imo State on behalf of the National Primary Health Care Development Agencies (NPHCDA), 2014. I served as Monitor/Supportive Supervisor for the National Immunization Days (NIDs) in Owerri zone, Imo State in 2014. I am the national coordinator of the Coalition for Vaccines, Vitamins and Immunization in Nigeria [CoVIAN], 2012-present.

My previous GAVI responsibilities and deliverables had included to:

1. Advocate to the State and LGAs to have budget line (Basket Fund) for Routine Immunization activities.
2. Support States and LGAs to develop Plan of Action for Routine Immunization at State and LGA level; and on a monthly basis analyse the status of implementation of this plan of action and provide feedback to the State team and report to the National level (NPHCDA).
3. Support and ensure the implementation of 1,2,3 Strategy in their States of assignment.
4. Support State team to undertake capacity building for health workers in State of assignment; in the areas of routine immunization services delivery, data management, cold chain system and immunization waste management.
5. Support the collection, collation, analysis of reliable Routine Immunization data on a regular basis through supportive supervisory visit to HFs and LGAs, participation in the monthly data quality checks and data quality self-assessment.
6. Provide technical support to the monthly meeting of Local Immunization Officers (LIOs) in their State of assignment.
7. Supports the State team to ensure that Routine Immunization vaccines are available in the State and they are properly distributed to LGAs in a timely manner.
8. Monitor the Status of implementation of all the activities in the GAVI Immunization Support System (ISS)/ Health System Strengthening (HSS) Objectives and report to the National level on a quarterly basis.
9. Monitor the Judicious use of GAVI Funds at all levels in their States of assignment.

I have fifteen years’ experience implementing large-scale and complex M&E of projects/programs including nutrition and food security interventions; and surveys to collect individual, household, community and facility level data. I conducted and supervised the M&E of the HIV and AIDS Home-Based Care (HBC) component of the Global Fund Round 9 in the 36 States and FCT, and was a Trainer/Resource Person and Supervisor for training of 125 persons from the 36 States and FCT on M&E, under Civil Society for HIV/AIDS in Nigeria [CiSHAN] during 2010-2011. I was a consultant to Federal Ministry of Health and Unicef on Joint Annual Review [JAR] for the Evaluation of Nigeria’s National Strategic Health Sector Development Plan [SHSDP] in Akwa Ibom State in 2012. Since 2012, I have served as Technical Consultant to the Country Coordination Mechanism [CCM] on oversight visitations to evaluate Global Fund-supported projects and sites in Kebbi, Akwa Ibom, Anambra and Rivers States. I am an M&E practitioner, facilitator/teacher and implementer, at home with and engaged in the development and application of appropriate M&E methods and tools; including performance indicators, logical framework approach (LFA), logic model, M&E Framework, impact evaluation, theory-based evaluation, formal surveys, rapid appraisal methods, participatory methods, public expenditure tracking surveys, and cost-benefit and cost-effectiveness analysis.

I am routinely involved with/engaged in data collection, analysis, information gathering and report writing using questionnaires, face-to-face interviews, telephone interviews, group techniques, in-depth reviews, facilitated workshops, focus group discussions (FGDs), and documents reviews. I routinely coordinate M&E activities to ensure coherence of approaches across projects/programmes and organizations; using the following four approaches to impact evaluation: randomized evaluation design, quasi-experimental design,  population comparison with a non-equivalent control group, and rapid assessment using group interviews, key informants, case studies and secondary data. I was the consultant of World Bank and National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA) that developed Imo State Multi-sectoral HIV/AIDS M&E Plan, and sole consultant for ‘Development of the Global Fund for AIDS, TB and Malaria Comprehensive Manual of Procedures’ for Nigeria in 2012. In 2014, I undertook data quality self-assessment (DQS) of RI in Njaba and Owerri West LGAs of Imo State on behalf of the National Primary Health Care Development Agencies (NPHCDA).

I possess strong capacity and experience in planning and organizing surveys and field work/logistics. I have a network of experienced enumerators, supervisors, and data entry clerks and ability to mobilize and retain them all over Nigeria. I have proven experience with data quality assurance mechanisms (field work management, data entry programming, etc.) on Global Fund grants/projects. I am familiar and experienced with both field and central-based data entry methods as may be desired.

I have received the following additional M&E/evidence-generation related trainings from the USAID/Measure Evaluation/MSH: Optimizing your M&E team's performance: Improving internal communication and dealing with conflict; Overcoming the challenge of building and leading effective M&E teams for public sector, NGO and civil society organizations; The Virtual Leadership Development Programme (a Diploma course); Country Ownership & Organizational Capacity Building; and Creating an Enabling Environment for M&E Community of Practice [CoP]. I have also received training in Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) and Data Management; use and application of QuickBooks software; and Peer Participatory Rapid Health Assessment for Action (PPRHAA). I am a World Bank-trained Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) advocate and Health Economist, with involvement in monitoring and evaluation (M&E) as an implementer, supervisor and trainer since 2010. I also hold a doctoral degree in Optometry from the College of Medicines and Health Sciences of Imo (now Abia) State University in 1988. A widely-travelled person, I am Fellow of the Academy for Capacity Building (FACB), a member of the management steering committee of the Nigeria Association of Evaluators (NAE), and belong to several professional bodies including the Nigeria Institute of Management (NIM) and Chartered Institute of Personnel Management of Nigeria (CIPM). My pay slip in 2010 is attached. I earned N1.5 million monthly in my last consultancy with the Federal Government and UNAIDS for the African Union and GlobalPOWER Women Network Africa (GPWNA)’s 2^nd High Level Meeting in 2013.