The Emergency Transport Scheme (ETS) is implemented by Society for Family Health in 16 LGAs of Adamawa State in collaboration with the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) and Transaid. The project aims to increase access to maternal health services through provision of affordable and timely means of transportation to health facilities for women in maternal health emergency. The project is helping link pregnant women to maternal health services such as access to deliveries in health facilities assisted by skilled health providers by removing transportation barriers.
The project provides routine transportation of pregnant women and new born in maternal emergency to health facilities; creates awareness and demand for intervention in Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps and host communities and actively engages government and community stakeholders for project ownership and uptake of services.
The project has a pool of 640 trained volunteer drivers. In 2016 and 2017, the project worked with NURTW state council to replace 101 inactive drivers out of a total of 640 spread across intervention LGAs. Refresher training was conducted for all 640 volunteer drivers to improve service delivery to pregnant women and new born in maternal emergency. ETS Technical Steering Group (TSG) with membership from relevant government Ministries, Departments and Agencies, Faith Based Organizations, women groups and other partners’ coordinates activities that are designed to institutionalize project sustainability in the state.
In the period under review, over 70% of 640 trained volunteer drivers on the scheme were actively transported at least one woman and newborn under emergency to a health facility, 11,186 pregnant women including those in labour representing 102% target for the period under review were provided transportation services. Since inception, over 14,644 women representing 76% of project target have benefitted from the transportation scheme. The project equally recorded more than 90% attendance of drivers at ETS club meetings held quarterly in all the 16 intervention LGAs to keep drivers updated and on course on the project. Pregnant women in IDP camps and host communities now benefit from transport services provided by volunteer drivers.
