Ebonyi State government has attracted the services of the National Emergency Medical Service and Ambulance System, NEMSAS, for faster medical responses in the state.
In association with the Rural Emergency Services Medical Ambulance Transport, RESMAT,
Dr Moses Ekuma,Ebonyi State Commissioner for Health, in a press statement said on Monday during a press briefing in Abakiliki.
“This is aimed at transporting pregnant women as well as women in labor and under-5 children with medical emergencies in rural areas to the health facility for free, and they are also to receive free treatment within their first 24 hours in the health facility.
“The objective of this project is to reduce secondary delay, that is, delays in transportation to the health facility, which is among the major contributors to maternal mortality and under-5 mortality.”
Ebonyi state government, through the state Ministry of Health, has been committed to implementing the objectives of NEMSAS to enhance healthcare.
NEMSAS is in line with the healthcare reforms of President Bola Tinubu through the Nigeria Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative in Ebonyi State.
President Bola Tinubu-led federal government has assured of deploying tricycles and other transport means to fast-track medical responses in 15 states of the country, of which Ebonyi is one of the beneficiaries.
Head of Operation of NEMSAS, Dr Emuren Doubra who led a delegation to the commissioner at the State Health Complex in Ochoudo Centenary City, Abakaliki, said the programme is aimed at ensuring that Nigerians, especially rural dwellers and the less privileged, have access to critical maternal and child health services in Ebonyi and other 14 selected states in the country.
The NEMSASA program prioritizes timely intervention for pregnant women and infants by deploying tricycles and boat ambulances to remote areas to address delays in emergency transports, thereby enabling faster medical responses and potentially saving lives.
By the end of 2025, a total of 1,700,000 pregnant women living in rural areas across 15 selected states across the country would have been reached by the Federal Government through its NEMSAS-implemented rural emergency and maternal transportation services.
NEMSAS would provide rural emergency and maternal transportation services for 1,700,000 pregnant women by the end of December 2025.
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