Technical Assistant On Communication To The Director General (Communication Manager)
Abuja Nigeria
As the Technical Assistant on Communication, I assisted the Director General on the policy, strategy and operational framework for the NCDC with specific focus on the use of digital media as a primary touch point, brand identity and visibility, media and partner relations, and internal communications, to increase awareness among Nigerians about the NCDC, awareness on current and emerging public health threats in Nigeria, and to combat misinformation around diseases of public health importance in Nigeria.As the communication lead at the NCDC, I developed and implemented a digital media strategy that transformed NCDC’s virtual engagement with Nigerians, growing the NCDC’s Twitter followership from less than 1000 to over 1 million, between late 2017 and early 2020; I also achieved an over 300% increase in page likes on the organisation’s Facebook page, same period. Based on insights provided by our social media data, we learnt that some of our key publics are avid users of Facebook; I, therefore, led Facebook awareness campaigns for Lassa fever and Yellow fever respectively in the 2018-19 outbreak season for the diseases in Nigeria, supported by Facebook; data insights from these campaigns provided a baseline for a robust, evidenced-based public and media engagement for Nigeria’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic which started late 2019.During my stint as the communication lead, I also developed and implemented a two-year communication plan for the NCDC, to guide the organisation’s internal engagement with staff and partners, as well as external engagement with the media and other key publics. I led digital and onsite branding, content development and online publicity for notable events, including the first ever Lassa fever International Conference in Nigeria (2019, tinyurl.com/5ybzp9ea). I started a bimonthly internal newsletter for the NCDC to ensure staff members understand the NCDC vision and strategy, and are empowered to achieve it.