A non-governmental Organisation (NGO) with the goal of providing life-saving logistics to the vulnerable, Giving Tide International, has inaugurated a health initiative, called Stable Health Initiative.
It is Nigeria’s first free non-governmental ambulance system called ‘Ambulance Without Borders.’
The NGO unveiled the initiative as part of its activities to mark the World Health Day (WHD).
The WHD, being a day observed globally under the auspices of the United Nations (UN), is celebrated yearly to draw attention to health issues of concern to people all over the world.
The theme for WHD is “Our planet, our health.” This year, WHD aims to focus global attention on urgent actions needed to keep humans and the planet healthy and foster a movement to create societies focused on well-being?
The theme of the WHD called on all to reimagine a world where clean air, water, and food are available to all; where economies are focused on health and well-being, and where cities are liveable and people have control over their health and the health of the planet!
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), while the COVID-19 pandemic showed the healing power of science to the world, it has also highlighted the inequities in the world, since the pandemic has revealed weaknesses in all areas of society and underlined the urgency of creating sustainable well-being societies committed to achieving equitable health now and for future generations without breaching ecological limits.
While the design of the economy breeds inequitable distribution of income, wealth, and power, with too many people still living in poverty and instability, a well-being economy has human well-being, equity and ecological sustainability as its goals, the global health giant said.
Therefore, in line with the goals of WHO, GivingTide International, in collaboration with mass medical mission (m3), has inaugurated the stable health initiative.
The initiative involves the incorporation of a free ambulance system and a free into a free systematic yearly health screening for Nigerians.
Project Coordinator, Dr Kim Egwuchim, called on Lagos residents to register with the Ambulance Without Borders in case of emergencies, adding that people need to register before they can use the services free of charge.
He stressed the essence of pre-registration, saying the 1 ambulance is dedicated to serve 100,000 people before it can be said to be fully utilised. If there are no up to these numbers, it means that the ambulance is underutilised, he added. “If we have this (free ambulance service) and people don’t register, it is useless; it is a waste of resources,” he said.
The Executive Secretary of Giving Tide International, Dr Abia Nzelu, underlined the importance of the health initiative, saying it is to help prevent emergencies, give health educations, render free yearly cancer, and general health screening, which will coincide with the birth date of beneficiaries and render free emergency ambulance services for registered beneficiaries.
According to her, registration is free and it is the prerequisite to have access to all the services, which the initiative has to offer.
She noted that these services are restricted only to registered beneficiaries because it is a way of making the operations more effective.
“If there is an emergency, all you need to do is to place a call. You are already well known; we know your address and we already know the hospitals where you go to. So, it makes the logistics very easy,” she said.
The importance of this initiative in Nigeria cannot be overemphasised.
According to the World Population report, Nigeria has the fourth lowest life expectancy in the world.
Nigerians, says the report, live about 10 years less than Ghanaians, 20 years less than Indians and 30 years less than Singaporeans.
Lagos (Nigeria’s economic capital) is ranked as the least liveable city in Africa and the second least liveable city in the world, according to the 2021 ranking of cities by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). Healthcare infrastructure is a major criterion used in the ranking.
The Stable Health Initiative, Nzelu said, aims to complement the effort of the government in addressing this sad situation. The unique feature of the initiative is the combination of preventive and emergency coverage for the registered beneficiaries (registrants).
Registrants would have access to the following vital services: free health education, which will encompass a broad overview of the importance of lifestyle, diet, and environment in improving health status of registrants; free annual cancer/general health screening, which would be timed to coincide with the birthday of each registrant.
One ambulance is to serve 100,000 registrants (WHO recommendation). For example, Lagos State requires 200 ambulances for 20 million potential registrants.
To sustain these free services, GivingTide said, it aims to go beyond the conventional assumption that health infrastructure can be funded only by government budget or private investment, to further the 80/20 strategy of united and concerted philanthropy for the common good – since the current conventional system of funding health care has failed the masses and made health care to be out of their reach.
The 80/20 strategy empowers the social sector to complement government’s efforts through the establishment of world-standard institutions of care that are available to all strata of society, Egwuchim said.
The free emergency ambulance service would ameliorate the burden of acute emergencies, compounded by COVID- 19.
Registration of beneficiaries of the Stable Health Initiative, which commenced on April 13, is free and open to persons without discrimination. Interested individuals can send their name and address to register@awb.health.
The target is to deploy one free ambulance for every 100,000 people, as recommended by WHO in underserved regions of the world, with Nigeria as its take-off location, he added.