INTRODUCTION:
Nigeria’s national digital platform for community tuberculosis (TB) reporting often experiences technical glitches and synchronization failures, disrupting real-time data submission. Electronic, case-based TB surveillance improves data timeliness, completeness, and program monitoring and is recommended by the World Health Organization.¹,² In Enugu State, volunteers previously traveled monthly to the coordinating community-based organization (CBO) office with printed and soft-copy records for data validation, causing reporting delays, extra costs, and operational burdens. A locally adapted digital solution was introduced to address these challenges while maintaining validation standards.

METHODS:
A comparative observational assessment evaluated the former in-person validation process against a revised digital reporting approach implemented by the South Saharan Social Development Organisation (SSDO). National TB indicators were simplified and deployed via the Mwater Surveyor platform, enabling standardized, collaborative, and offline data capture.³,⁴ Seventeen volunteers representing all local government areas were trained to submit TB data digitally, with supporting registers uploaded for virtual validation, limiting physical office visits to exceptions.

RESULTS:
The digital system eliminated routine office visits, reducing transport and printing costs, shortening validation timelines, and improving reporting continuity during national platform disruptions. Volunteers reported greater confidence in digital reporting, while offline data capture mitigated internet connectivity issues.⁵

CONCLUSIONS:
Locally adapted digital tools with virtual validation reduce operational costs, reporting delays, and frontline worker burden, supporting global recommendations for electronic TB surveillance.¹,⁶