By Raymond Ken-Mbata
Riyom, Plateau State, August 31, 2026 — The Federal Government has commenced the nationwide distribution of Advanced Life Support (ALS) ambulances and tricycle ambulances as part of efforts to close emergency healthcare gaps and ensure that distance and difficult terrain do not prevent Nigerians, particularly those in rural and underserved communities, from receiving timely medical attention.
The development was announced in a statement signed by Ado Bako, Assistant Director, Information and Public Relations, Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, following the flag-off ceremony held at the National Trauma Centre, Riyom, Plateau State.
The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Ms. Daju Kachollom S., mni, said the intervention was designed to strengthen emergency transportation, referrals and last-mile access to healthcare, particularly during maternal and newborn emergencies, childhood illnesses, road crashes and other trauma cases where delays can have serious consequences.
She explained that the National Emergency Medical Service and Ambulance System (NEMSAS) provides the national framework for coordinating emergency medical services, while Plateau State already has complementary interventions including its State Ambulance System, the Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH) emergency-care pathway and the Rural Emergency Service and Maternal Transport (RESMAT) programme, supported by the SAVEMAMA Digital RESMAT platform.
Kachollom also announced that the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, CON, had approved Riyom General Hospital as an outpost of JUTH, following the cooperation of the Plateau State Government. She commended the state government for supporting the initiative and urged Plateau State and other beneficiary states to take ownership of the vehicles by ensuring their proper deployment, staffing, maintenance, monitoring and accountability.
According to her, the success of the programme would ultimately be determined by the number of lives saved and preventable deaths and disabilities reduced, rather than simply by the number of ambulances distributed.
The Executive Governor of Plateau State, His Excellency, Caleb Manasseh Mutfwang, represented by his Deputy, Her Excellency, Josephine Piyo, commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the intervention, describing the ambulances as a strategic investment in emergency healthcare. He said their deployment would help overcome difficult terrain and accessibility barriers in underserved communities, improve patient transportation and referrals, and strengthen the emergency response chain.
The Governor recalled that Plateau State had earlier procured five tricycle ambulances for the Maternal and Newborn Mortality Innovative Initiative in Jos East, and assured the Federal Government that the new assets would be properly deployed, responsibly used and adequately maintained.
The Chief Medical Director of JUTH said the emergency transport initiative was already producing encouraging results in Plateau State, particularly in Jos East and Riyom Local Government Areas. He disclosed that about 1,115 patients had been transported in Jos East and more than 900 in Riyom under the initiative.
He further reported that Jos East recorded only one maternal death in the preceding six months, while Riyom recorded none during the period. According to him, the state’s maternal mortality figure, previously estimated at about 905 deaths per 100,000 live births, had declined to approximately 500, with the ambition of reducing it further to about 100.
He commended healthcare workers and the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare for providing an additional 10 new tricycle ambulances to Plateau State.
The Chairman of Riyom Local Government Area, Hon. Bature Sati Shuwa, welcomed the establishment of the JUTH outpost in Riyom, describing it as a product of purposeful and patriotic leadership. He expressed confidence that the facility would attract patients from surrounding communities and improve access to specialised healthcare closer to the people.
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