The CEO of Emergency Response Africa, Folake Owodunni believes EMS plays a vital role in Africa‘s healthcare system and efforts must be made to explore different ways to build a more responsive and efficient emergency care ecosystem across the continent.
While speaking during a recent interview with Business Insider Africa, Folake revealed that the challenges facing the sector must be met with potential solutions that can be achieved via policy, partnerships, and innovation.
According to her, during the just concluded Prehospital Emergency Care Stakeholder Summit: Beyond the Ambulance, held in Lagos State, there was a general acceptance that emergency medical services (EMS) should no longer be overlooked when it comes to healthcare planning because more focus on the sector will go a long way in decreasing preventable deaths and enhancing quick access to medical care, especially during emergencies.
She is firmly of the opinion that boosting investments in prehospital care and developing emergency response infrastructure, particularly in underserved communities, will save more lives and guarantee better healthcare outcomes. “There is a clear need for a prehospital care system that integrates community engagement with technology. Stakeholders at the summit agreed that by training community members as first responders and leveraging digital tools for rapid response coordination, we can improve emergency care accessibility and efficiency,” she said.
Mrs. Owodunni disclosed that the shortage of supportive policies and regulatory frameworks to improve EMS operations is a problem that must be eradicated, and the lack of dependable centralized communications system prevents Africans from accessing emergency services since national and state emergency numbers cannot be relied upon.
Her words, “Another critical issue is the limited recognition of paramedics as a formal health worker cadre, which affects both training and recruitment. Without structured training programs and professional acknowledgment, the sector struggles to build a skilled workforce. Financing also remains a major hurdle. While initiatives like NEMSAS are working on reimbursement mechanisms, they are not yet fully implemented, making it difficult to secure sustained investment in EMS infrastructure.”
She added that donors, international development agencies, and global health organizations are very key stakeholders who have an important role to play in developing an effective emergency medical services system across Africa. “One of the most impactful contributions key stakeholders can make is providing funding to develop EMS infrastructure, including ambulances, emergency call centers, and training programs for first responders,” Folake added.
