FG Continues Nationwide Emergency Ambulance Rollout With Deployment To Ogun

 The Federal Government has continued the nationwide rollout of emergency medical assets under the National Emergency Medical Services and Ambulance System (NEMSAS), deploying 13 ambulances to Ogun State to strengthen emergency response and improve access to timely, life-saving care.

The Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr Iziaq Adekunle Salako, disclosed this on Friday during the distribution of three Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS), one Basic Life Support (BLS) and nine tricycle ambulances to selected health facilities in the State.
The Ogun deployment follows the initial rollout in Riyom, Plateau State, where emergency medical assets were recently distributed as part of the Federal Government’s nationwide effort to strengthen emergency transportation and pre-hospital care.

Dr Salako said the intervention, under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, is designed to build a coordinated emergency medical system linking dispatch, trained personnel, pre-hospital care, transportation and referral to appropriate hospitals. He said the first phase of the national rollout includes 145 tricycle ambulances, six boats, 15 BLS ambulances and 79 ATLS ambulances, with Ogun among the states benefiting from the intervention.

The Minister said the ambulances would support Federal and State tertiary institutions, including the Federal Medical Centre, Abeokuta and Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital, as well as selected high-volume and hard-to-reach health facilities. He noted that NEMSAS and the Maternal Mortality Reduction Innovation Initiative had provided free emergency obstetric care to more than 48,000 women, including over 4,000 free caesarean sections, while contributing to a 17 per cent reduction in maternal deaths and a 12 per cent reduction in newborn deaths across 172 high-burden Local Government Areas.

Dr Salako stressed that the success of the rollout would ultimately be measured by how quickly and effectively emergency patients are stabilised, transported and connected to definitive care.

“𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘦 𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘶𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘮𝘣𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘺’𝘴 𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘺, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘴 – 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘴 𝘶𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘧𝘦𝘳, 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘢 𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘥 𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘴𝘩 𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘮 𝘳𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘪𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘰𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘢 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘺.”

He urged the Ogun State Government and beneficiary facilities to ensure proper deployment, maintenance, accountability and exclusive use of the ambulances for emergency medical services, stressing that they must be operated by trained personnel and supported with adequate operational funding.

The Minister said the Federal Government would continue to work with States, health facilities, emergency responders and other stakeholders to expand and strengthen a coordinated emergency medical system across the country, ensuring that emergency care is brought closer to Nigerians wherever they live.