Joseph Okeibunor

Datos Biográficos

ID332585
NOMBREJoseph Okeibunor
NOMBRESJoseph
APELLIDOOkeibunor
FIRMAOKEIBUNOR J
AFILIACIONESWorld Health Organization Regional Office for Africa
ORCID0000-0002-6696-8503
VERIFICADOSí
TOTAL DE OBRAS34
TOTAL DE CITAS3
TOTAL COMO AUTOR34
TOTAL COMO EDITOR0
PRIMER AÑO DE PUBLICACIÓN1997
AÑO MÁS RECIENTE DE PUBLICACIÓN2026
ÍNDICE H1

  • Event-based surveillance in the WHO African region

    Open AccessOpeayo Ogundiran, George Sie Williams et al.ARTICLEFrontiers in Public Health2026

    Event-based surveillance (EBS) is a critical component of epidemic intelligence, supporting the timely detection of unusual public health events. However, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the status of EBS implementation across the WHO African region was not well documented. This study establishes a regional baseline of EBS modalities in place before the pandemic to inform future surveillance system evaluation and strengthening. We conducted a cro…

  • Prevalence, time trends and associated factors of adult overweight and obesity in 36 countries in the WHO African region from 2003 to 2022

    Open AccessMawuényégan Kouamivi Agboyibor, Kouamivi Mawuenyegan Agboyibor et al.ARTICLEBMJ Global Health2026

    BACKGROUND: We investigated the prevalence, temporal trends and associated factors of overweight and obesity among adults in the WHO African region. METHODS: We analysed individual-level data from 54 nationally/sub-nationally representative STEPS surveys conducted between 2003 and 2022 among adults aged 18-69 years. Prevalence estimates were weighted and age-standardised. Time trends were estimated using a Bayesian spatiotemporal modelling approa…

  • The Ethiopian emergency medical team

    Open AccessBoniface Oyugi, Nahom Tadelle et al.ARTICLEFrontiers in Public Health2025

    Background: Ethiopia faces climate shocks, conflict, food insecurity, and limited livelihoods, creating urgent humanitarian needs and a critical demand for emergency medical response. A well-coordinated national emergency medical team (N-EMT) is essential to address these crises effectively. Objective: This study documents the progress of the country's emergency response mechanisms and N-EMT development, highlights lessons learned for other count…

  • The regional training centre for the emergency medical teams initiative in the WHO African region

    Open AccessBoniface Oyugi, Lazaro Gilberto Martinez-Monterrey et al.ARTICLEFrontiers in Public Health2025

    Background: A coherent and systematic approach to education and training of the workforce under the EMT initiative has been identified as an imperative step to improve the quality and professionalism of emergency response teams. On April 14 2021, the WHO and the Ethiopian Ministry of Health (MoH) jointly launched a training centre to enhance the delivery of emergency medical and health services in the continent when faced with humanitarian and ot…

  • Lessons learned and policy implications from an organizational reform of the World Health Organization African region country offices

    Open AccessAbdulmumini Usman, Joseph Cabore et al.ARTICLEFrontiers in Public Health2025

    A decade ago, the World Health Organization (WHO) faced global calls for significant reforms to shift its focus from donor-driven priorities to those determined by its Member States. This demand was driven by political and financial pressures aimed at enhancing effectiveness and efficiency in service delivery. The WHO Regional Office for Africa was particularly challenged, and the 2014–2015 Ebola outbreak further amplified the need for transforma…

  • Stakeholder perceptions of the WHO country offices in Africa

    Open AccessOlushayo Oluseun Olu, Abdulmumini Usman et al.ARTICLEFrontiers in Public Health2025

    Introduction: Evidence from internal audits and other evaluation reports shows that the World Health Organisation Regional Office for Africa and its country offices have had varied relationships with their stakeholders, including governments, donors, non-governmental organsations, and the United Nations. As part of a wider organisational reform, a stakeholder perception study was conducted to understand the insights of the organisation's stakehol…

  • The evolutionary journey to a new normal for learning and capacity building of healthcare workers to prepare and respond to health emergencies across Africa

    Open AccessBoukare BONKOUNGOU, Fausta Mosha et al.ARTICLEFrontiers in Public Health2025

    Background: Faced with the COVID-19 mobility restrictions, the WHO AFRO EPR program pioneered a collaborative initiative with Project ECHO to virtually educate health workers across Africa at scale. This initiative has evolved into a transformative learning journey. This paper aims to present the lessons learned. Results: = 43,221) indicated high relevance and applicability, with 97% of respondents planning to use the information in their work an…

  • Assessing the utility of the Covid-19 epidemic Situations of Concern classification system in guiding operational responses to the pandemic in the WHO African region

    Open AccessOpeayo Ogundiran, Jessica L Abbate et al.ARTICLEFrontiers in Public Health2025

    During a public health emergency, early implementation of response activities is crucial for saving lives and protecting livelihoods. The COVID-19 pandemic, declared by the World Health Organization (WHO) on March 11, 2020, posed a global public health crisis that required timely decision-making despite limited data and capacity. In this context, WHO’s Regional Office for Africa (AFRO) developed the Situations of Concern (SOC) classification syst…

  • Exploring the burden of cholera in the WHO African region

    Open AccessEtien Luc Koua, Fleury Moussana et al.ARTICLEBMJ Global Health2025

    INTRODUCTION: Cholera outbreaks remain persistent in the WHO African region, with an increased trend in recent years. This study analyses actual drivers of cholera including correlations with water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) indicators, and climate change trends. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional descriptive and analytic study. Cholera data from 2000 to 2023 and data relating to cholera drivers were compiled and analysed through multi-leve…

  • Evaluation of the epidemic intelligence from open sources (Eios) system for the early detection of outbreaks and health emergencies in the African region

    Open AccessGeorge Sie Williams, Etien Luc Koua et al.ARTICLEBMC Public Health2025

    We conclude that the EIOS system performed well in detecting public health events in the African region early. However, some improvements are needed. We recommend increasing social media and local community radio sources on the EIOS system

  • The emergency medical teams initiative in the WHO African region

    Open AccessThierno Balde, Boniface Oyugi et al.ARTICLEFrontiers in Public Health2024

    Background: The WHO Emergency Medical Teams (EMT) Initiative coordinates the deployment of qualified medical teams who promptly respond to public health emergencies (PHEs) and provide quality service during emergencies whilst strengthening capacity. Globally, 40 EMTs have been classified between 2016 and the present (as of the writing of this article in December 2023) and are from across all the WHO regions except the WHO Africa Region (AFRO). Ho…

  • Factors Associated with Healthcare Utilization Among Adults in Saudi Arabia During the Covid-19 Pandemic

    Open AccessBalgis Gaffar, Mir Faeq Ali Quadri et al.ARTICLESAGE Open2024

    To investigate factors associated with healthcare utilization by adults in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on Andersen’s Behavioral Model of Health Services utilization, we conducted logistic regressions to determine the relationship between predisposing factors (age, gender, education, employment status), need factors (critical medical needs), and enabling factors (insurance coverage, financial loss) on heal…

  • The use of artificial intelligence for delivery of essential health services across WHO regions

    Open AccessJoseph Okeibunor, Joseph Chukwudi Okeibunor et al.ARTICLEFrontiers in Public Health2023

    Background: Artificial intelligence (AI) is a broad outlet of computer science aimed at constructing machines capable of simulating and performing tasks usually done by human beings. The aim of this scoping review is to map existing evidence on the use of AI in the delivery of medical care. Methods: We searched PubMed and Scopus in March 2022, screened identified records for eligibility, assessed full texts of potentially eligible publications, a…

  • A step towards reinvigorating the Covid-19 response

    Open AccessThierno Balde, Boniface Oyugi et al.ARTICLEBMJ Global Health2023

    The WHO Regional Office for Africa (AFRO) COVID-19 Incident Management Support Team (IMST) was first established on 21 January 2020 to coordinate the response to the pandemic in line with the Emergency Response Framework and has undergone three modifications based on intra-action reviews (IAR). An IAR of the WHO AFRO COVID-19 IMST was conducted to document best practices, challenges, lessons learnt and areas for improvement from the start of 2021…

  • Trends in public health emergencies in the WHO African Region

    Open AccessEtien Luc Koua, Jobert Richie Nansseu Njingang et al.ARTICLEBMJ Global Health2023

    The African Region reports the heaviest burden of public health emergencies globally. This paper presents an exploratory analysis of public health events data collected the past 22 years in the WHO Africa region, to explore patterns and trends that can inform public health strategies, policy changes and develop appropriate tools to improve disease surveillance, preparedness and response to public health emergencies. A suite of exploratory data an…

  • Geospatial Clustering of Mobile Phone Use and Tuberculosis Health Outcomes Among African Health Systems

    Open AccessSunny Ibeneme, Nkiruka Ukor et al.ARTICLEFrontiers in Public Health2022

    BACKGROUND: While multiple studies have documented the impacts of mobile phone use on TB health outcomes for varied settings, it is not immediately clear what the spatial patterns of TB treatment completion rates among African countries are. This paper used Exploratory Spatial Data Analysis (ESDA) techniques to explore the clustering spatial patterns of TB treatment completion rates in 53 African countries and also their relationships with mobile…

  • Sars-CoV-2 infection in Africa

    Open AccessHannah C Lewis, Harriet Ware et al.ARTICLEBMJ Global Health2022

  • Transitioning the Covid-19 response in the WHO African region

    Open AccessThierno Balde, Boniface Oyugi et al.ARTICLEBMJ Global Health2022

    The onset of the pandemic revealed the health system inequities and inadequate preparedness, especially in the African continent. Over the past months, African countries have ensured optimum pandemic response. However, there is still a need to build further resilient health systems that enhance response and transition from the acute phase of the pandemic to the recovery interpandemic/preparedness phase. Guided by the lessons learnt in the respons…

  • Time for a new global roadmap for supporting evidence into action

    Open AccessTanja Kuchenmüller, John N Lavis et al.ARTICLEPLOS Global Public Health2022

  • EHealth or e-Chaos

    Open AccessHumphrey Karamagi, Humphrey C Karamagi et al.ARTICLEJournal of Global Health2022

    Background: Digital health solutions are a potent and complementary intervention in health system strengthening to accelerate universal access to health services. Implementing scalable, sustainable, and integrated digital solutions in a coordinated manner is necessary to experience the benefits of digital interventions in health systems. We sought to establish the breadth and scope of available digital health interventions (DHIs) and their functi…

  • Framing the future of the Covid-19 response operations in 2022 in the WHO African region

    Open AccessThierno Balde, Boniface Oyugi et al.ARTICLEGlobal Health Action2022

    BACKGROUND: With the evolving epidemiological parameters of COVID-19 in Africa, the response actions and lessons learnt during the pandemic's past two years, SARS-COV 2 will certainly continue to circulate in African countries in 2022 and beyond. As countries in the African continent need to be more prepared and plan to 'live with the virus' for the upcoming two years and after and at the same time mitigate risks by protecting the future most vul…

  • Is self-reported depression, HIV status, Covid-19 health risk profile and Sars-CoV-2 exposure associated with difficulty in adhering to Covid-19 prevention measures among residents in West Africa

    Open AccessMorenike O Folayan, Roberto Ariel Abeldaño Zuñiga et al.ARTICLEBMC Public Health2022

    The study signifies a disparity in the access to and use of COVID-19 preventative measures that is allied to the health and COVID-19 status of residents in West Africa. Present findings point to risk compensation behaviours in explaining this outcome

  • Factors Associated with Financial Security, Food Security and Quality of Daily Lives of Residents in Nigeria during the First Wave of the Covid-19 Pandemic

    Open AccessMorenike O Folayan, Olanrewaju Ibıgbamı et al.ARTICLEInternational Journal of…2021

    An online survey was conducted to identify factors associated with financial insecurity, food insecurity and poor quality of daily lives of adults in Nigeria during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. The associations between the outcome (experience of financial loss, changes in food intake and impact of the pandemic on daily lives) and the explanatory (age, sex, education level, anxiety, depression, HIV status) variables were determined usi…

  • Differences in Covid-19 Preventive Behavior and Food Insecurity by HIV Status in Nigeria

    Open AccessMorenike O Folayan, Olanrewaju Ibıgbamı et al.ARTICLEAIDS and Behavior2021

  • Realigning Health Systems Strategies and Approaches; What Should African Countries Do to Strengthen Health Systems for the Sustainable Development Goals

    Open AccessSunny Ibeneme, Moses Ongom et al.ARTICLEFrontiers in Public Health2020

    The African region is experiencing peculiar demographic, economic, social and environmental challenges that place pressures on the health systems. While the need to explore ways to address identified health systems challenges is far from easy, there are substantial evidence that having robust frameworks and metrics to direct efforts and priorities of countries could be rewarding. In view of persisting regional health systems' challenges the World…