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Prof. Isaac Adewole, the Minister of Health has
reiterated Federal Government’s commitment toward reducing mortality and
morbidity from road crashes in the country.
Adewole said this when he received the Special
Envoy of the Secretary General of United Nation on Road Safety, Mr. Jean Todt,
in Abuja.
He said that the Federal Government through the
Federal Ministry of Health would continue to partner with the Federal Road
Safety Corps (FRSC) and other relevant stakeholders towards realisation of the
goals of the UN decade of Action on road safety in Nigeria.
He pointed out that some of the activities of the
ministry are in line with the fifth pillar of the UN Decade of action which
includes establishing and developing a formal training for paramedics in
accredited institution in Nigeria.
This comes with full curriculum and placement into
scheme of service in the country, Prof Adewole added.
He explained that there is a fully equipped level
1 Trauma Centre at the National Hospital where victims with complex injuries
from Road Traffic Crashes (RTC) are treated.
According to him, there is also an established
National auto crash integrated data system (NACRIS), which harmonises database
of RTC in the country.
The Minister further said that there is a
development of National Policies on Emergency Medical and National Ambulance
Services in the country and that the ministry has started the implementation of
free treatment of victims within the first 24 hours of incident.
In his remark, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, the Minister of
State for Health, said that the FMOH has a consolidated Emergency Medical
Service on various highway corridors.
Ehanire observed that a pilot of the scheme was
undertaken on the Abuja/ Kaduna Highway corridor during the closure of the
Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport in April this year.
Earlier, Mr. Jean Todt, the Special Envoy of the
Secretary General of United Nation (UN) on Road Safety, expressed the need for Nigeria
to enact a legislative act for road users in the country, saying it would
reduce accidents.
