The Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) has said the National Emergency Number 112, which the Commission instituted and superintends, is the most critical infrastructure necessary for the successful implementation of the National Emergency Medical Service and Ambulance Systems (NEMSAS), recently launched by the Federal Ministry of Health.
The NEMSAS is established as a programme implementation unit in the Office of the Honourable Minister of Health. The project aims to establish an Information and Communication Technology-enabled emergency medical service that is effective, efficient, timely and in partnership with the private operators in the health sector. The objective of this new project is to increase access to healthcare, and to reduce mortality and morbidity rates in order to improve health care outcomes to all Nigerians.
According to NCC, by integrating disparate Emergency Medical Services (EMS) resources available in Nigeria, the scheme would coordinate the national roll-out of EMS, enabling services to be provided through relationship with other entities and organisations. In essence, NEMSAS would rely on many organisational partners to perform its EMS service delivery functions and the NCC’s 112 Emergency Number is going to drive the communication element of the project.
Speaking at the public signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the NEMSAS project between the Federal Ministry of Health, other relevant agencies and development partners, at the Shehu Umar Musa Yar’Adua Centre in Abuja recently, the Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, said the Commission was delighted to provide the technology platform that will link the NEMSAS partners with those who require emergency health services.
Danbatta, who was represented at the forum by the Director, Public Affairs, NCC, Dr. Ikechukwu Adinde, said: “As the national telecoms regulator, the NCC is providing the communication ingredient for the initiative through its 112 Emergency Number, thereby allowing those in health-related emergencies to be able to reach out to stakeholders that are involved in the NEMSAS project.”
According to Danbatta, “The NCC has been at the forefront of deploying Information and Communications Technology (ICT) to drive the implementation of various government projects and initiatives. The 112 number is at the heart of this initiative to provide a national number to Nigerians who are in need of health-related emergencies to be able to call Emergency Response Agencies (ERAs) or organisations in life-threatening situations.”
The CEO of NCC also expressed the unwavering commitment of NCC to supporting NEMSAS’ implementation as well as similar governmental initiatives as part of the strategic programmes of improving Nigeria’s digital culture through policies instituted by the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy.
