Community health workers brokering polio enumeration in Nigeria

In the last two decades, global health humanitarianism has become an industry unto itself, with the characteristics of an industry complete with complex systems of labor enterprise. Data play a crucial role in this industry, but little is known about global health data collection, and Community Health Workers (CHWs) lived experiences. For example, data serves as a currency that establishes and strengthens relationships between people, regions, and countries. Data inform program officers, providing local evidence for international and national policymaking. But data are not people, nor are they static entities. I studied polio CHWs employed by local and global organizations to monitor, collect, and provide data that drive the Nigerian polio vaccination program. These CHWs act as brokers using self and acquired skills to navigate the complex architectures of the program and bridge the gaps between opposing worlds.