The Federal Government has said that the Rural Emergency Service and Maternal Transportation initiative is targeted at saving 1.7 million pregnant women in rural areas from maternal death.
The National Emergency Medical Service and Ambulance System representative, Adejoke Dada, said that the project being undertaken by the Federal Ministry of Health in collaboration with the World Bank was out to fill the gaps in assessing appropriate, timely and affordable healthcare by pregnant women”.
Dada, who spoke during a stakeholders’ meeting in Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State capital, on Wednesday, ahead of the project taking off in January 2025, said that the RESMAT activities were billed to be undertaken in 15 IMPACT Project states, including Ekiti.
She said, “This programme is to help 1.7m pregnant women to access affordable and qualitative emergency care so that these women in the rural areas do not die of childbirth anymore and also to ensure that our newborns too do not die of morbidity diseases that are associated with neonatal.
“This initiative is championed by the Minister of Health, Prof. Ali Pate, that we should empower 15 states as the first batch so that the communities which have high mortality and morbidity rates could be assisted to access timely, affordable and adequate emergency care for the rural women and children under five and neo-natal.”
A resource person with NEMSAS, Dr Prosper Ahworegba, said that under the RESMAT initiative, the World Bank would provide ambulances in different wards in the 15 beneficiary states for emergency transportation of pregnant women and children to primary healthcare centres and Obstetrics and New Born centres.
Ahworegba said, “A lot of women die because of lack of access to healthcare when they are pregnant. The figures for maternal and infant mortality across Nigeria are very high.
“While the UK has just seven deaths per 100,000 live births, Nigeria has between 576 and 615 deaths per 100,000 live births. This is embarrassing. That is why the Federal Ministry of Health feels that we should help women in rural areas.
“A preponderance of those who die are in the rural areas, and most of them die because they cannot access transportation to the nearest hospital that can take care of them. That is the essence of our being here”.
Ahworegba, who said that an ambulance was prescribed to serve 10,000 persons, said, “The World Bank will provide the ambulances, but people will pay a token so that it will be sustainable.
“The ambulance will be in that ward so that if there is a need to move a child who is sick or a pregnant woman who requires extra care, that person will be moved immediately to the next comprehensive emergency obstetrics and newborn centre.
“We have 15 states for this IMPACT Project. We expect to help 1.7m pregnant women in rural areas to save them from early deaths due to pregnancy-related causes,” the medical expert said.
The Executive Secretary of Ekiti State Primary Healthcare Development Agency, Dr Ayodele Seluwa, who represented the state commissioner for Health, Dr Oyebanji Filani, said the initiative would boost healthcare delivery in terms of access to care.
Seluwa, who listed factors responsible for high maternity and infant mortality in some communities, including access and transportation, said that the initiative would address the transportation problem and ensure access.
“If that gap is filled, we will be able to reduce maternal mortality and infant mortality in most cases. With the right information, people will get to know about the ambulance service, and the community has to be involved so that they own the system. They will have the numbers. They know where to call when the services will be available,” the PHCDA boss said.