ReviewCureus2026
The Nigerian Emergency Care System: Structural Challenges, Workforce Constraints, and Financing Gaps.
Review in Cureus, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Emergency Medical Services (EMS) are a critical component of resilient health systems, enabling timely response to trauma, acute medical conditions, and obstetric emergencies. Despite Nigeria's substantial burden of preventable emergency-related morbidity and mortality, the development of a coherent and fully functional EMS system remains incomplete. Existing initiatives, including the National Emergency Medical Service and Ambulance System (NEMSAS), have demonstrated policy intent but continue to face persistent structural constraints. This narrative review synthesised peer-reviewed literature, national policy documents, and international agency reports to examine governance structures, workforce capacity, and financing mechanisms within Nigeria's emergency care system. Comparative analysis with selected high- and middle-income country EMS models was undertaken to identify contextually relevant system-level lessons. Findings indicate that EMS limitations in Nigeria reflect interdependent structural weaknesses rather than isolated operational failures. Governance fragmentation within a federal health system has hindered standardisation, coordination, and accountability, while workforce shortages, exacerbated by limited professionalisation and high rates of migration, restrict both prehospital capacity and clinical leadership. Financing remains inconsistent and heavily reliant on public budget allocations and out-of-pocket payments, limiting sustainability and equitable access. These domains interact in a reinforcing cycle that constrains system performance and the implementation of national reforms. Strengthening EMS in Nigeria will therefore require coordinated cross-domain reform that aligns governance authority, workforce professionalization, and sustainable financing within a unified national framework. Recognising emergency care as a public good and prioritising effective policy implementation are essential to improving health system resilience and advancing progress toward universal health coverage.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.