Matilda Omonaiye/
Trauma care and emergency response in Nigeria is set to get attention like never before as a conference holds in Lagos on November 19.
Described as the first-ever trauma conference in Nigeria, the convener, Trauma Care International Foundation, in a statement says the essence of the conference is to provide a platform for all relevant stakeholders to engage and proffer sustainable solutions to the problems surrounding trauma care and emergency response in Nigeria.
The Director of Trauma Care International Foundation, Dr Deola Philips, stated: “Trauma is one of the leading causes of death globally and because it contributes extensively to the hundreds of deaths recorded every year in Nigeria it has become imperative to begin to find ways to address the menace that is fast becoming a public health burden in Nigeria,” she said.
According to Dr Philips, the conference is being convened to provide a platform for the stimulation of inter-disciplinary discussions in the fields of trauma care and emergency response management in the country.
Various stakeholders including policymakers, senior government officials, the academia, media practitioners, corporate organizations, professional associations, scholars and volunteers from various health and trauma-related disciplines are expected to come together to discuss how their various disciplines can collectively contribute towards the development of workable ways towards addressing the menace of trauma management which has become an obvious public health challenge in our society.
With the theme, Trauma Care in Nigeria: The Way Forward, The conference will discuss as keynotes amongst other issues, The National Health Act and its provisions for Emergency Care.
Also Improvements in Pre-Hospital Emergency Care Systems; Delivering Advanced Trauma & Emergency Care in Low-Income Settings; Transforming Health Care in Nigeria through Trauma Network; Building Sustainable Trauma Care Systems in Nigeria and in West Africa; Securing Health Care Financing For Trauma And Emergency Services: National Basic Health Care Provision Fund; and Voluntary Blood Donation as a worthy cause, will be discussed.
The conference “will be a forum for a formal introduction of the NGO, Trauma Care International Foundation, to all key stakeholders in Trauma Management in Nigeria and a launch of the TCIF Trauma Stakeholder Forum”.
Trauma Care Foundation International is a registered Non-Governmental Organisation with the vision to improve the state of trauma care and emergency response services in Nigeria through health education, advocacy and community-based programmes.