By Damiete Braide
In the heat of the COVID-19 pandemic, while healthcare systems around the world were overwhelmed, one Nigerian hospital quietly outperformed expectations.
The Federal Medical Center (FMC), Abeokuta COVID-19 emergency team under the leadership of Dr. Ogbonna Eugene Chikere and his team, achieved a remarkable 65% reduction in disease transmission and mortality, a feat praised by government officials and healthcare authorities alike.
In this exclusive interview, Dr. Chikere, a physician, public health specialist, and infectious disease researcher, talks about how his team’s strategies changed the course of the pandemic in Ogun State and how his previous work on Ebola virus disease shaped his groundbreaking response.
Dr. Chikere, many experts and officials have commended the role you played in Ogun State’s COVID-19 response. What exactly was your role at the Federal Medical Center, Abeokuta, during the outbreak?
Thank you. I served as the lead for the COVID-19 Emergency Team at FMC Abeokuta. My primary responsibility was to design and implement a comprehensive disease surveillance system and guide our emergency response framework. I worked with a team of public health professionals to establish protocols for testing, isolation, treatment, and infection prevention.
What made our approach unique was our integrated policy framework, developed from scratch, which we deployed at FMC. It ensured swift identification and management of cases, robust infection control, and timely intervention. This not only helped us drastically reduce hospital-acquired infections but also led to one of the lowest COVID-19-related mortality rates in the region.
Reports show a 65% reduction in transmission and deaths at FMC. How did you achieve that kind of outcome when so many hospitals were struggling?
It was the result of early planning, systems thinking, and a deep understanding of infectious disease dynamics. The surveillance system I designed tracked every case, from entry to discharge, ensuring we detected symptoms early and intervened appropriately. We trained all staff in protocol adherence and equipped them with the necessary resources.
Beyond FMC, that template was adopted across several public health institutions, and it significantly improved overall outcomes for the state.
Government sources and healthcare authorities have credited your framework as one of the most effective in the country. How does that make you feel?
It’s humbling and validating. I’ve always believed that strong surveillance and actionable policy save lives. To see our work recognized and adopted beyond our facility proves that with the right expertise and commitment, even a resource-limited setting can make a global-level impact. More importantly, it reflects the power of collaboration. My team, the hospital leadership, and state officials all contributed to the success.
Prior to COVID-19, you had already worked on infectious disease research, including Ebola. Can you tell us how that shaped your approach during the pandemic?
Yes, my earlier research on Ebola virus disease gave me a solid foundation in epidemic response. I investigated its clinical presentation, transmission patterns, and containment strategies. That research deepened my knowledge of how viral outbreaks behave in high-risk settings and how misinformation, delayed detection, and poor coordination can worsen crises.
When COVID-19 hit, I already had a mental blueprint of how to respond. My experience with Ebola emphasized the importance of community-based surveillance and stakeholder engagement, lessons I applied extensively during the pandemic response at FMC and in advising the state’s broader strategy.
Have your research findings or publications on Ebola or other outbreaks gained recognition beyond Nigeria?
Absolutely. My scholarly contributions, particularly those examining epidemic control in African contexts, have been impactful in academic and policy discussions. The knowledge gained through this research directly informed my COVID-19 response strategy, especially regarding containment in urban and semi-urban populations.
It’s also opened doors to international collaborations and conversations about how African researchers and clinicians can drive public health innovations that are scalable and sustainable.