The Federal Government has commenced the distribution of 110 ambulances and 145 tricycle ambulances to health facilities across the country as part of efforts to strengthen emergency medical services and reduce avoidable deaths.
The Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr Iziaq Kunle Salako, disclosed this on Friday at the flag-off and distribution of Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS) and tricycle ambulances to selected health facilities in Ogun State under the National Emergency Medical Services and Ambulance System (NEMSAS), held at the Federal Medical Centre, Abeokuta.
Salako said the intervention was designed to improve emergency transportation and first-responder care, particularly for patients in hard-to-reach communities and high-volume healthcare facilities.
According to him, the Federal Government acquired 145 tricycle, six boat, 15 Basic Life Support (BLS) and 79 Advanced Life Support (ALS) ambulances, alongside laptops, printers and communication devices, for the first phase of the initiative.
He said Ogun State would receive three ALS, one BLS and nine tricycle ambulances, targeting the Federal Medical Centre, Abeokuta, Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital and selected high-volume or remote secondary and primary healthcare facilities.
The minister explained that the government’s approach had moved beyond simply providing ambulances to establishing a coordinated emergency-care system linking transportation, trained personnel, communication systems, referral pathways and definitive hospital treatment.
He said NEMSAS had, under the Maternal Mortality Reduction Innovation Initiative, supported more than 48,000 women to receive free emergency obstetric care and over 4,000 women to access free caesarean sections in NHIA-empanelled facilities.
The intervention, he added, had contributed to a 17 per cent reduction in maternal deaths and a 12 per cent decline in newborn deaths across 172 high-burden local government areas.
Salako said the success of the ambulance programme would ultimately be determined by how effectively the assets were deployed during emergencies, stressing that the vehicles must be properly maintained and used strictly for emergency medical purposes.
He urged the Ogun State Government and beneficiary health facilities to provide complementary resources, including operational and maintenance funding, trained personnel and effective monitoring mechanisms.
“These assets represent more than vehicles and equipment; they represent a promise that emergency care will be brought closer to the people, and that the health system will respond with greater speed, coordination and compassion when lives are at risk,” he said.
The minister also warned beneficiary facilities against abusing the ambulances, stressing that they were not meant for transporting corpses, purchasing drugs or conveying hospital consumables.
Salako further disclosed that his office had received complaints and media reports alleging unprofessional practices, dereliction of duty and illegal collection of levies by some officials of the Federal Medical Centre, Abeokuta.
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He said the complaints would receive comprehensive attention, warning that anyone found culpable would be sanctioned in accordance with civil service rules.
The minister called for stronger collaboration among the Federal Government, Ogun State Government, healthcare facilities, emergency responders, security agencies and communities to build an emergency medical system that is accessible, responsive, coordinated and sustainable.
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