Odimmegwa Johnpeter/Abuja
The Federal Government and Katsina State Government have strengthened emergency healthcare delivery in the state with the launch of 15 Advanced Life Support Ambulances, 238 tricycle ambulances and commissioning of the General Hospital, Charanchi. This was contained in a statement signed by Ado Bako, Assistant Director, Information and Public Relations.
The interventions, unveiled on Tuesday in Charanchi by the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, and the Katsina State Governor, Malam Dikko Umaru Radda, are aimed at improving access to emergency and secondary healthcare, particularly for rural and hard-to-reach communities.
The Federal Government also donated three additional ambulances to Katsina State, bringing the total number of ambulances available to eighteen.
Speaking at the event, Pate said the State Emergency Medical Services and Ambulance System (SEMSAS), which connects the dots between the state and local government, should provide residents with a dependable means of obtaining emergency assistance, reaching appropriate healthcare facilities and receiving timely treatment.
He said the intervention was in line with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda and the Nigeria Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative (NHSRII), which brings the Federal Government, states, the FCT and development partners together to strengthen Nigeria’s health system.
In his address, the Katsina State Governor, Dikko Umaru Radda, said the launch of the emergency ambulance system represented a major milestone in the state’s determination to save lives and ensure timely access to emergency healthcare.
He said the 15 Advanced Life Support Ambulances would provide specialised emergency care and patient stabilisation during transportation, while the 238 tricycle ambulances would improve access to emergency transportation for residents in rural and hard-to-reach communities.
Radda disclosed that the General Hospital, Charanchi, is the fourth of the sixth secondary healthcare facilities established by his administration, annoucing that the Funtua and Mai’adua General Hospitals are at advanced stages of completion and expected to be commissioned before the end of 2026.
The Governor further stated that the Charanchi General Hospital was upgraded at a total cost of N2.059 billion, and has been equipped to provide diagnostic, medical, surgical, maternity, emergency and other essential services to residents of Charanchi and neighbouring communities.
He said that more than 280 Comprehensive and Primary Healthcare Centres had been renovated and revitalised across the state. He added that in the last three years, government has recruited 804 healthcare personnel across various cadres, and commenced postgraduate medical residency training in six departments, and solarisation of hospitals to provide 24-hour electricity.
The Executive Secretary of KATSEMSAS, Dr. Adamu Aminu Adamu, said the agency would strengthen emergency response across Katsina State through ambulance coordination, rapid response, patient transportation and improved referral linkages between communities and healthcare facilities.
Dr. Aminu rearfirmed government’s commitment to saving lives, reducing preventable deaths, improving health indices, noting that the commissioning of the ambulances would provide opportunity for every pregrant woman in labour have access to emergency transport and ensuring that no residents of Katsina State is denied timely emergency medical care because of distance or delay.
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