The National Health Act 2014 provided the pathway for the formation of the National Emergency Medical Treatment Committee at the National level and SEMTC at the sub-national level as approved by the 61st National Council on Health (NCH).
The National and Sub-National Emergency Medical Services & Ambulance Systems in Nigeria is the operational arm of the third disbursement gateway, as designated in the National Health Act (NHA), with 5% of the Basic Healthcare Provision Fund for Emergency Medical Treatment earmarked to provide Nigerians with urgent health care.
It is in view of this after launching the NEMSAS that the Federal Ministry of Health selected 4 States for the pilot of this initiative.
To actualize this initiative Anambra, Kano, Ogun and Yobe States were been selected by the Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH) as the pilot States in the country. Resulting from this development and as one of the selected pilot States, the Kano State Ministry of Health (SMOH) convened a 2-day onboarding, orientation and inauguration workshop with support from the Lafiya programme for the members of the committee in Hotel Seventeen, Kaduna from 21st -22nd December 2022.
The workshop took place under the Chairmanship of the Honourable Commissioner of Health, other stakeholders that attended the workshop included the permanent Secretary SMOH, DG Hospitals Management Board (HMB), ES Kano State Contributory Health Care Management Agency (KSCHMA), ES Kano Health Trust Fund (KHETFUND), ES State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), Directors from Health sector MDAs, Chairman and members of SEMTC.
The onboarding and orientation of the committee was facilitated by a team from National Emergency Medical Services and Ambulance System (NEMSAS) led by the National Programme Manager/ Senior Technical Assistant of the Honourable Minister of Health Dr Saidu Ahmed Dumbulwa.
This initiative is aimed at reducing mortality and morbidity rate associated with medical emergencies caused by inefficient and uncoordinated emergency medical services in the country.
In his opening remarks, Kano State Commissioner for Health Dr Aminu Ibrahim Tsanyawa urged the members of the Committee comprised of personnel from Health MDAs, Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH), Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), Nigerian Police Force (NPF), SEMA, Kano Road Transport Authority (KAROTA), Kano State Fire Service, Media component of Kano State-Led Accountability Mechanism (KANSLAM) and Partners to be committed and hardworking to fast track achieving mandates of the committee.
Tsanyawa appreciated His Excellency the Governor Kano State Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje for his unflinching support to the health sector which facilitated the State selection among the 4 pilot States. The commissioner also appreciated the guidance and support from FMOH that culminated in the progress recorded thus far.
In conclusion, the Commissioner acknowledged with appreciation the support of the Lafiya Programme to the health sector of Kano State in the drive towards improving health outcomes and actualization of Universal Health Coverage (UHC).
The committee was inaugurated during the 2-day workshop by the HCH with Dr. Hussaini Muhammad (CMD MMSH, Kano) as the Chairman while Dr. Shehu Abdullahi (Director Medical Services SMOH) will serve as the Secretary of the committee.
The Chairman of the committee on behalf of all the members of the committee appreciated their selection and assured the HCH and the State as a whole of their determination and commitment to diligently deliver on their mandates.
The formal launching of the programme in the State is planned to take place in 2024.
