Advocating for Maternal and Child Health in Nigeria and England
The Boost Community highlights the stories of members committed to immunization work at the national and sub-national levels. The Boost Member Spotlight Series will regularly feature active Boost members who are engaged in relevant and innovative immunization activities in their contexts. If you have a story to share, please contact us at info@boostcommunity.org.
The professional pursuits of Dr. Adefunke Marufat Adesina, a dedicated Medical Practitioner, Public Health Physician, Field Epidemiologist, and WHO-trained infodemic manager, have intertwined her passion for health care with her commitment to immunization for over fifteen years. Through her experiences and efforts, she has become a beacon of change, advocating for maternal and child health and ensuring vaccine accessibility for all.
Dr. Adesina’s career journey began in Lagos State, Nigeria, where she witnessed firsthand the devastating impact of vaccine-preventable diseases. A chance encounter with a middle-aged woman living with polio complications ignited Dr. Adesina’s determination to make a difference.
“When I was a medical officer, I covered some of the primary healthcare centres in Lagos State, Nigeria. I met a beautiful and intelligent middle-aged lady who has been living with complications of polio disease (paralysis) right from her childhood. She was well until about her 5th or 6th birthday, when her two lower limbs suddenly lost strength and mobility. Since then, she needs to use a walking stick to move from one point to another. One day, she was unwell and visited me in the consulting room. During the consultation she confirmed that she missed the poliovirus vaccine as an infant. [When] she mentioned this… I remembered some of my public health lectures on immunisation when I was in medical school, particularly the voice of a lecturer and one of my public health consultants, Professor Olufunmilayo Asekun-Olarinmoye. Immediately, I wondered what type of [missed opportunity for vaccination] was there? Was there no ‘catch for vaccination’?”
Reflecting on her public health lectures and the voices of her mentors, she realized the crucial role health care workers play in ensuring every child receives life-saving vaccines.
Driven by her passion for maternal and child health, Dr. Adesina transitioned from her initial career path in obstetrics and gynecology to focus on immunization. With this shift, she has worn many hats, including medical practitioner, health specialist, immunology advocate, monitoring, evaluation, and learning expert, universal health coverage campaigner, policy developer, and community activator. Additionally, she served as an internal technical advisor for the Strengthening Pro Poor Community Health in Lagos State, focusing on equitable, affordable, and accessible maternal and child health services for the population in urban slum communities.
Throughout her fifteen-year career in immunization, Adefunke remains committed to her mission. She spearheaded innovative projects and used her experiences to help others, including the following:
- As the Project Focal Officer for Lagos State, Nigeria, she assisted with the implementation and monitoring of the Immunization Defaulter Tracking System, which revolutionized immunization monitoring and evaluation, including a central M&E dashboard.
- As a Project Officer and key Ministry Officer, she supported inputs for research on tools used in campaigns, such as voice messaging in enhancing health service utilization, “Do mothers pick up a phone? A cross-sectional study on delivery of MCH voice messages in Lagos, Nigeria”.
- As a trained WHO Lot Quality Assurance Surveyor (LQAs), she advised a local government area (LGA) to pass their LQAs submission after multiple failed attempts, having missed children and capturing challenges in their previous LQAs submissions.
- As a Field Epidemiologist and key officer, with the Nigerian National Government (NCDC) and AFENET, she played a key role as a sub-team lead in the Epidemiology and Surveillance pillar during the COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria. She ensured proper sample collection for lab investigations, identified cases, collected quality data, and managed contact tracing and follow-up, significantly contributing to the success of the pandemic response.
Dr. Adesina’s involvement with the Boost Community since 2020 has further amplified her impact. As one of the first Boost Champions, she repeatedly shares her knowledge and expertise, empowering fellow immunization professionals to tackle immunization challenges effectively. Through collaboration and knowledge exchange, she has strengthened immunization programs at local, regional, and global levels and offerings by the Boost Community.
As she embarks on her next chapter in Europe, Dr. Adesina remains steadfast in her commitment to public health. She is currently a mentor, coach, and outreach coordinator for the A2U Project, in the Department of Access and Widening Participation at the University of Wolverhampton, England focused on ensuring that underserved communities keep up to date with their health and vaccinations. With an encompassing perspective and desire to make an impact globally, she aims to leverage her experiences in Nigeria to
contribute to positive health outcomes worldwide.
In Dr. Adesina’s eyes, no challenge is insurmountable when approached with collaboration and passion. She believes that by working together, individuals, organizations, and nations could achieve the ultimate goal: health for all.
"Effective leaders understand the importance of both speaking and actively listening. Listening is not just hearing; it is concentrating, understanding, responding, and remembering what is being said. An effective leader must be a good listener. The greatest leaders can make people feel valued and important. They show a genuine interest in the needs and opinions of their people, and they do not express their ideas until they are sure the group's ideas have been understood. This means leaders must be accessible, not above them. Note that effective communication improves the sense of teamwork, and it becomes easier to solicit the help and cooperation of others. This is particularly important in immunization, where so many activities are cross-functional."
Dr. Adefunke Marufat Adesina
Dr. Adefunke Marufat Adesina is a Public Health Physician, Field Epidemiologist, and in the past has been an Assistant Director and State Monitoring and Evaluation Officer at the Lagos State Ministry of Health Directorate of Health Care Planning Research and Statistics. With a passion for supporting maternal and child health services, Dr. Adesina has been the Directorate of Health Care Planning Research and Statistics and the Monitoring and Evaluation Focal Person for the Ministry of Health in Nigeria. She is also trained in infodemic management and currently is working at the University of Wolverhampton, England for the A2U project as a Mentor and Outreach Coordinator, to bring her lessons learned in Nigeria to the global public health space.