The Lagos State Government has reiterated its resolve to strengthen emergency preparedness and trauma response mechanisms to reduce preventable deaths on Lagos roads, as stakeholders converged on Thursday for a symposium marking World Trauma Day 2025 with the theme: “Reducing Needless Deaths on Our Roads: Everybody’s Responsibility.”

The event, organized by the Lagos State Accident and Emergency Centre (LASAEC), held at the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Alausa-Ikeja, drew participants from key sectors including health, transportation, security, and civil society, who emphasized that reducing road trauma must be a shared civic duty.

Speaking at the event, the State Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi who was represented by the Director of Medical Services, Lagos Health Service Commission, Dr. Olawale Adegbite, said most trauma cases on Lagos roads were not accidents but preventable incidents caused by human errors. He stressed that the state’s emergency systems, especially pre-hospital care and ambulance services, have been instrumental in saving lives but require continuous improvement and public cooperation.

Abayomi lamented that many lives were lost due to delays caused by onlookers taking videos instead of assisting first responders, urging Lagosians to respect ambulances and prioritize saving lives. “Every time we block an ambulance or ignore an emergency call, someone’s parent, spouse, or child could be dying. Trauma care begins with public responsibility,” he cautioned.

Highlighting Lagos’ ongoing investments in emergency medicine, he noted that most trauma cases brought in by LASAMBUS ambulances recorded higher survival rates compared to those transported by bystanders. “Proper pre-hospital intervention makes the difference between life and death,” he said, adding that continuous staff training and retention were critical to sustaining success in trauma management.

Earlier in her opening remarks, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Health, Dr. (Mrs.) Kemi Ogunyemi, who was represented by the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Health, Dr. Oluwatoni Adeyemi, described trauma as one of the leading causes of preventable deaths and disabilities globally, particularly from road traffic crashes. She noted that Lagos State has made significant progress under the leadership of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, citing improvements in ambulance coverage, response time, and coordination among first responders.

She said: “We recently launched ten emergency ambulance bikes to ensure faster access to victims in congested areas and also commissioned modular high-dependency units in Ifako and Mushin General Hospitals. These interventions are part of our drive to bring critical care closer to communities and reduce delays in lifesaving interventions.”

Dr. Ogunyemi further emphasized that the theme of this year’s commemoration underscored the fact that reducing trauma-related deaths goes beyond government efforts. “It requires everyone—drivers, pedestrians, health professionals, civil society, and the media—to play their roles in building a culture of prevention and prompt response,” she said.

In his remarks, the Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Health, Dr. Olusegun Ogboye, said the story of “Mr. Andrew,” a trauma survivor treated at LASAEC, represented the essence of the symposium. He recounted how coordinated emergency response and government-backed trauma care saved a man who was left comatose after a crash on the morning of his daughter’s wedding.

Dr. Ogboye stressed that pre-hospital care was a crucial but often neglected component of healthcare. He revealed that the Lagos State Government was expanding trauma centers across the state, with new facilities being established in Epe, Eti-Osa, and Badagry corridors in partnership with private sector allies such as Custodian Allied Insurance and Access Bank.

He added that the state’s ambulance service had evolved into a world-class system with well-equipped vehicles serving as mobile intensive care units. “There’s hardly any equipment you’ll find in advanced ambulance systems that our units don’t have—ventilators, defibrillators, and fully trained emergency technicians. Lagos has come a long way,” he said.

The Permanent Secretary also called for attitudinal change among motorists and the general public, especially in giving ambulances the right of way. “You move aside for convoys and security vehicles, yet block ambulances carrying lives. That behavior must change. It could be your loved one in that ambulance,” he warned.

Delivering a moving presentation titled “The Traumatic Story Being Rewritten,” the Medical Director, LASAEC, Dr. Adeolu Arogundade, told the true story of Mr. Andrew, who was hit by a car and left unconscious for months but survived through state-funded care. He said the case epitomized the 41,000 trauma cases successfully treated at LASAEC in the last 15 years, with a commendable mortality rate of just 1.4%.

Dr. Arogundade praised the Lagos State Government for sustaining a policy that guarantees free emergency care for all trauma victims within the first 24 hours, emphasizing that the policy’s funding—though sometimes delayed—remains vital to saving lives. “Behind every statistic is a human story. Each percentage represents someone’s father, mother, or friend who lived because a system worked,” he noted.

He further applauded first responders, including LASAMBUS, FRSC, LASMA, and RRS operatives, for their selflessness and collaboration with hospitals in ensuring timely care for victims. “Our success is proof that trauma care is everyone’s business; from road users to rescuers and administrators,” he said.

Guest Speaker and Lagos State Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Corps Commander Kehinde Hamzat, underscored the grim reality that most crash-related deaths are avoidable. Citing WHO data, he said Africa bears a disproportionate share of the 1.3 million global deaths from road traffic crashes yearly, with Lagos inclusive due to high vehicle density and weak road discipline.

Hamzat warned that unsafe behaviours such as speeding, drunk driving, and disregard for traffic laws remain major culprits, stressing that effective trauma management begins with prevention. “No matter how advanced our hospitals become, if we don’t change road behaviour, we’ll keep losing lives needlessly,” he asserted.

He commended the Lagos State Government for its leadership in emergency response reforms and called for continued synergy between agencies. “Our collective vigilance, compliance, and compassion are what will make our roads safer and our emergency systems more responsive,” he said.

As the symposium ended, participants resolved to deepen inter-agency collaboration, intensify public sensitization, and push for behavioural change campaigns across the state. The Lagos State Accident and Emergency Centre also announced a Road Safety Awareness Roadshow scheduled for Friday as part of the commemoration activities.

The 2025 World Trauma Day event reaffirmed the Lagos State Government’s enduring message that saving lives on the road is not just the government’s responsibility, but a collective moral and civic duty of every Lagosian.

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