# 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

## TL;DR

Nigeria sent 196 public health workers to Liberia and Sierra Leone during the 2014–2015 Ebola crisis, successfully supporting outbreak response and shaping future public health systems in Africa.

## Contribution

The paper highlights Nigeria’s deployment as a pivotal example of African-led crisis response and its lasting impact on regional public health infrastructure.

## Key findings

- Nigeria’s team contributed to Ebola treatment, surveillance, and health service restoration without any infections among responders.
- The mission influenced the creation of the Africa CDC and the African Union Volunteer Health Corps.
- The deployment spurred sustained investments in public health workforce and emergency preparedness across Africa.

## 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.