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The Nigerian government has initiated discussions with European aerospace manufacturer Airbus regarding the potential development of a nationwide ground-to-air emergency medical response system.
The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Muhammad Pate, visited France on Tuesday to review the equipment, following approval from President Bola Tinubu.
The proposed system is meant to help emergency medical response all over Nigeria by combining air ambulance services with the country’s existing healthcare infrastructure, especially in areas that are hard to reach.
Airbus is a European aerospace company that makes commercial planes, helicopters, and military and space equipment.
The company works in many countries, such as France, Germany, and Spain, and sells technology and equipment to governments, airlines, and emergency services.
During the visit, Pate met with Airbus representatives to discuss ways to improve Nigeria’s emergency medical response capacity.
He also toured an Airbus emergency care helicopter at a French government-supported air ambulance facility in Lyon.
Pate said the Nigerian government is working to expand health infrastructure in both the public and private sectors to improve access to emergency care.
He said, “We’re expanding Nigeria’s public health infrastructure but also private sector infrastructure for medical care, including emergencies. And the National Emergency Medical Services and Ambulances Scheme is being revamped with underground ambulances for our cities, as well as the rural emergency medical ambulances.
“Now we’re here in Lyon to look at the helicopter emergency medical services, look at the Airbus helicopters, which are the dominant helicopters used globally for the air ambulances, but fit within the health system, within the personnel that we have, within the context of the capacity that exists, and the financing model that can make it sustainable.”
Pate also said that the government was looking into using helicopter emergency medical services to help out with the systems that are already in place.
He says that the proposed system would allow for faster responses to trauma cases and serious medical conditions like heart attacks and strokes, especially in places where advanced medical care is hard to get to.
“This is taking our health sector one step further, building a health system that will serve Nigerians, that will be getting closer to the standards that anyone can expect anywhere in the world. It’s a long journey. We’re starting it,” he said
