Officially, the Republic of Niger is a country in Western Africa, named after the Niger River. The capital city is Niamey, located in the far-southwest corner of the country. Niger is bordered by Libya to the northeast, Chad to the east, Nigeria and Benin to the south, Burkina Faso and Mali to the west, and Algeria to the northwest. Niger covers a land area of almost 1,270,000 km2, making it the largest country in West Africa, with over 80% of its land area covered by the Sahara Desert. Niger is a developing country, and is consistently one of the lowest-ranked in the United Nations’ Human Development Index.
HEALTH CARE SYSTEM
Niger is one of the poorest countries in the world; in 2010, it came 167 out of 169 countries listed in the United Nations Humanitarian Development Index. Two-thirds of the population live below the poverty line, surviving on less than 1 dollar per day and hunger is a daily issue for many families. Malnutrition is widespread and around half the country’s children are stunted. Medical facilities are limited in Niger, even in the capital. State-run hospitals and clinics often lack equipment and essential drugs.
There is also a severe shortage of trained medical professionals which in turn makes many people turn to local healers when they fall ill. These healers use traditional herbal medicines and rituals. Due to poor sanitation, water-borne diseases such as diarrhoea and cholera are common, particularly during the rainy season. During emergency situations, it will be difficult to access good medical facility due to the under development and lack of healthcare professionals and emergency medical services i.e. Air Ambulance services (Fixed wing and Rotary wing). There are good medical facilities in surrounding countries such as Nigeria which is closer and South Africa as well. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there were fewer than 300 doctors working in Niger during 2000-2010 (which represents 0.2 doctors for every 10,000 people).
EVACUATION SERVICES
Death of both old and young people can be largely reduced if services of air ambulance providers are embraced in this part of the world. Republic of Niger which is a neighbouring country can benefit from this service and help lower death rate in the country. Nigeria is closer to Republic of Niger; it can be used as a stabilization point for patients before decisions are made either to fly them abroad for onward treatment if necessary.
This is simply the moving or medevac of patient from lower level of care to higher level facilities. Lack of awareness for air ambulance service is a key factor that is still putting most of African countries behind. In Nigeria, an air ambulance service is available 24/7 but most countries around Nigeria are not aware of this fact.
ABOUT FLYING DOCTORS NIGERIA
The Flying Doctors Nigeria offer various aeromedical emergency services ranging from helicopter medevac, fixed wing transfers and commercial flight transfer of patient locally, regional and international. We respond swiftly to emergency calls and response time is mostly between 60minutes to 90minutes of call. We have French speaking staffs that have excellent local knowledge of the area which makes language not a barrier a problem at all.
We also specialize in offering air ambulance/medevac, ground ambulances, commercial escort and training services.
If you still require further information, contact us at sales@flyingdoctorsnigeria.com /0700FLYINGDRS or visit our website www.flyingdoctorsnigeria.com
