Commemorating a decade of service: Reflections on Nigeria’s deployment of 196 public health professionals to Liberia and Sierra Leone during the 2014–2015 Ebola crisis

Abstract

The West African Ebola virus disease (EVD) epidemic of 2013–2016 was the largest on record, severely affecting Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, and overwhelming public health systems. Following Nigeria’s successful containment of its domestic EVD outbreak in 2014, the African Union Support to Ebola Outbreak in West Africa (ASEOWA) mission deployed 196 Nigerian public health professionals, the largest single-nation contingent, to Liberia and Sierra Leone. This commentary reflects on that deployment, highlighting operational contributions, innovations, and the enduring impact of the mission on Africa’s public health security landscape. The Nigerian team strengthened Ebola Treatment Units (ETUs), surveillance, epidemiological investigations, laboratory testing, infection prevention and control (IPC), community mobilisation, and restoration of essential health services. Significantly, no responder infections occurred under Nigeria’s deployment. The mission reinforced African-led outbreak response and contributed to the evolution of regional security structures, including the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) and the African Union Volunteer Health Corps (AVOHC). A decade later, the deployment remains instrumental in shaping sustained public health workforce investments and integrated emergency preparedness systems across Africa.