FG Upgrades Riyom Hospital to National Trauma Centre, Deploys 15 Ambulances to Plateau

The Federal Government elevates Riyom General Hospital to National Trauma Centre status under NEMSAS, deploying 15 ambulances, including 10 tricycles for rural areas, to strengthen Plateau's emergency care.

                            

Riyom, Plateau State — September 1, 2026

The Federal Government has upgraded Riyom General Hospital to a National Trauma Centre and deployed 15 emergency ambulances to Plateau State, as part of a major push to strengthen emergency medical response and access to life-saving care.

The upgrade was announced Monday by Dr. Kachollom Daju, Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, representing Coordinating Minister Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, during the formal launch of the National Emergency Medical Services and Ambulance System (NEMSAS) in Riyom. The hospital will now operate as an outpost of the Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH).

The intervention comprises five conventional emergency ambulance buses, set to be distributed among JUTH, the National Orthopaedic Hospital in Jos, the Federal Medical Centre in Wase, the Plateau State Specialist Hospital, and the new National Trauma Centre itself, alongside 10 tricycle ambulances designed for last-mile emergency transport in rural and hard-to-reach communities.

Daju commended the Plateau State Government for ceding the Riyom facility to federal control, noting the development would not have been possible without Governor Caleb Mutfwang's consent, and stressed that all deployed vehicles are strictly reserved for emergency medical services.

Deputy Governor Josephine Piyo, representing Mutfwang, described the intervention as a major investment in emergency healthcare, noting Plateau had already procured five ambulance buses under its own Plateau State Emergency Medical Services and Ambulance System (PLASEMSAS), alongside tricycle ambulances previously deployed to Jos East and Riyom under a separate maternal and newborn mortality initiative. 

Commissioner for Health Nicholas Ba'amlong noted that this earlier investment had already contributed to a decline in the state's maternal mortality ratio, from 905 to approximately 500 deaths per 100,000 live births, alongside zero recorded maternal deaths in Riyom during the reporting period.