TECHDIGEST – The Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) has stated that the National Emergency Number 112 which it instituted and superintends, is the most critical infrastructure necessary for the successful implementation of the National Emergency Medical Service and Ambulance Systems (NEMSAS) recently launched by the Federal Ministry of Health.

The NEMSAS was established as a programme implementation unit in the Office of the Honourable Minister of Health.

The project aims to establish an Information and Communication Technology-enabled emergency medical service that is effective, efficient, timely and in partnership with the private operators in the health sector.

The objective of this new project is to increase access to healthcare, and to reduce mortality and morbidity rates in order to improve health care outcomes to all Nigerians.

By integrating disparate Emergency Medical Services (EMS) resources available in Nigeria, the scheme will coordinate the national roll-out of EMS, enabling services to be provided through relationship with other entities and organisations.

In essence, NEMSAS will rely on many organizational partners to perform its EMS service delivery functions and the NCC’s 112 Emergency Number is going to drive the communication element of the project.

It suffices to reiterate that the overarching vision of NEMSAS is to ensure availability of an emergency medical service and ambulance system that provides quality, prompt, effective and accessible transport and treatment services at no cost at the point of care across the country.

Speaking at the public signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the NEMSAS project between the Federal Ministry of Health, other relevant agencies and development partners, at the Shehu Umar Musa Yar’Adua Centre in Abuja recently, the Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, said the Commission was delighted to provide the technology platform that will link the NEMSAS partners with those who require emergency health services.

Danbatta, who was represented at the forum by the Director, Public Affairs, NCC, Dr. Ikechukwu Adinde, said the “as the national telecoms regulator, the NCC is providing the communication ingredient for the initiative through its 112 Emergency Number, thereby allowing those in health-related emergencies to be able to reach out to stakeholders that are involved in the NEMSAS project”.

“The NCC has been at the forefront of deploying ICT to drive the implementation of various government projects and initiatives. The 112 number is at the heart of this initiative to provide a national number to Nigerians who are in need of health-related emergencies to be able to call Emergency Response Agencies (ERAs) or organisations in life-threatening situations”, Danbatta stated.

The CEO of NCC also expressed the “unwavering commitment of NCC to supporting NEMSAS’ implementation as well as similar governmental initiatives as part of the strategic programmes of improving Nigeria’s digital culture through policies instituted by our supervising Ministry, the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy”.

Danbatta commended the Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, other government agencies such as the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), various private sector partners and international development partners involved in the project, for giving priority to EMS in order to progress toward providing universal health coverage (UHC) to all Nigerians regardless of their locations and circumstances through the NEMSAS’ initiative.

Over the years, Nigerians in distress and life-threatening situations have used 112 emergency numbers to get succour from ERAs to ensure safety of lives and property.

The role played by 112 Emergency Number particularly at the peak and vortex of Covid-19 pandemic in Nigeria has been adjudged phenomenal.

Currently, there are 24 Emergency Communication Centres (ECCs) in Nigeria that are operational across different states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

The ECCs are built and operated through partnerships, by the NCC as points where distressed calls by citizens terminate, from where they are routed to the appropriated emergency response and security agencies that manage such incidents.

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TECH DIGEST – Nigeria’s upper legislative chamber, The Senate, has taken further steps towards strengthening the legal status for the country’s National Emergency Number​​ 112, being implemented by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) though it’s Emergency Communication Centres (ECC).

NCC introduced the Emergency Number in 2019 and it proved effective by providing succours to Nigerians in the nation’s collective efforts to fight the spread of Coronavirus pandemic.

The Senate Committee on Communications recently organised a one-day public hearing where stakeholders gathered to make valuable contributions and observations on two bills by the Senate Committee on Communications.

These are the Nigerian Postal Service Act (Repeal and Establishment) Bill, 2021 and the Nationwide Toll-Free Emergency Number (Establishment) Bill, 2021, being sponsored by Senator Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State.

The emergency number bill passed the second reading on Wednesday, April 21, 2021 and the recent Senate public hearing on the bill was to have extensive discussion towards making the bill more robust to ensure a more effective, uniform and well-coordinated national emergency number 112, when it is finally passed into law, similar to the 999 emergency number in the United Kingdom and 911 in the United States.

Speaking at the public hearing, Senate President, Dr. Ahmed Lawan, stressed the desirability of the passing of such a bill into an Act of national Assembly, adding that the critical role of communication in modern day, especially in handling emergency situations cannot be over-emphasized.

Similarly, the Chairman of the Senate Committee, Oluremi Tinubu, said the bill, when passed, will establish the Nationwide Toll-Free Number as a primary emergency number and contact point for all emergency services in Nigeria, thereby harmonizing the various emergency numbers in the country into one uniform number while, at the same time, empowering the NCC to supervise and ensure compliance.

Represented by his colleague, Senator Odebiyi Akinremi, Senator Amosun said the bill seeks to make 112 the Emergency Number of Nigeria, stating that “this will enable citizens have access to quick and timely response in respect of all forms of emergency situations such as road accidents, fire outbreaks, burglary , medical emergencies and so on’’.

Also speaking, the Minister of Communications and Digital economy, Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, commended the Senate for organizing the public hearing. The Minister said while NCC had established functional ECCs across 23 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, efforts are in top gear to ensure ECC is established in the remaining 13 states of the Federation for the processing of the emergency calls through the 112 Number.

At the public hearing, the Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, made a number of valuable recommendations that will make the bill, which he said might be cited as the ‘National Emergency Communication Act, 2021’ when passed into law, more effectual in terms of board composition, scope as well as ability to accommodate emergency services by different statutory and regulatory agencies.

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