By Precious Mark
The Federal Government has announced a major expansion of the country’s emergency healthcare architecture, scaling up the National Emergency Medical Service and Ambulance System (NEMSAS) from the Federal Capital Territory to 34 states across the federation.
The Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Iziaq Adekunle Salako, disclosed this on Thursday in Abuja while declaring open the 11th Annual Scientific Conference and Annual General Meeting of the Intensive and Critical Care Society of Nigeria (I-CCSN).
Speaking on the theme, “Sustainable Financing for Intensive Care in Public Hospitals in Nigeria,” Salako revealed that the rapid expansion is part of critical, ongoing healthcare reforms targeted at reducing preventable deaths and shielding citizens from catastrophic out-of-pocket medical spending during life-threatening health emergencies.
To modernize the decentralized ambulance network, the Minister unveiled plans to deploy a unified digital emergency dispatch platform designed to eliminate fatal delays in patient transit.
“The Federal Government is developing a digital emergency dispatch platform that will seamlessly connect emergency callers, ambulance services, and treatment centers, enabling real-time emergency response, patient tracking, referrals, and claims management within a unified system,” Salako announced.
The Health Minister emphasized that access to critical care must be insulated from financial status, noting that an integrated system linking ambulance operations, High Dependency Units (HDUs), health insurance, and robust diagnostic tools remains the country’s best defense against critical illness.
“Critical illness does not discriminate. No Nigerian family should be forced to choose between financial ruin and access to life-saving healthcare.”
“We must develop sustainable financing mechanisms that strengthen our public hospitals, improve financial protection for citizens, and ensure that access to critical care is determined primarily by clinical need rather than the ability to pay,” the Minister stated.
To support the expanded clinical workload, Salako noted that the government has installed Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) oxygen plants in various public health facilities nationwide to guarantee a steady, reliable supply of medical oxygen.
He also stressed the need for aggressive human capital investments, calling for specialized training, fellowship programs, and continuous professional development for critical care physicians, nurses, and biomedical engineers to bridge existing workforce gaps.
Salako concluded by rallying state executives, development partners, and private sector investors to collaborate closely with the Federal Government to implement sustainable financing models that democratize intensive care across the nation.