The government has outlined plans to train and deploy 6,000 young people as community medical first responders through a joint programme between the Youth Employment Agency and the National Ambulance Service.

The move is aimed at addressing gaps in emergency health care across underserved communities.

The plan involves assigning trained responders to local assembly members, making them the first point of contact in medical emergencies within their electoral areas.

The goal is to ensure that no community is more than ten minutes away from immediate medical help.

Speaking at the memorandum of understanding signing ceremony on Friday, July 18, 2025, the Chief Executive Officer of the Youth Employment Agency, Mr Malik Basintale, said the programme responds to long-standing problems where Ghanaians continue to die from treatable conditions such as snake bites and heart attacks due to delays in getting help.

“People still die out of snake bites. There are people who still die out of heart attacks immediately, simply because they were unable to get to the hospital early enough or they were unable to get some first aid,” Mr Basintale said.

He explained that in many communities, the first person contacted during a medical crisis is often the assembly member, and this reality shaped the programme’s approach.

“We felt that we should create an opportunity where we attach the first medical responders to these assembly members so that when there’s an attack, that person will be first to go there, solving the situation before we call for backup,” he added.

The new recruits will undergo a training course made up of ten modules, including medical emergencies, airway management, breathing and circulation control, mass casualty response, and triage. Each responder will be given a basic medical kit and a first aid toolbox to provide emergency care while waiting for a professional medical team to arrive.

The Acting Chief Executive Officer of the National Ambulance Service, Dr George Kojo Owusu, welcomed the initiative and said it would strengthen health support in hard-to-reach areas.

“This comes at a time when we need it. It will increase our presence in underserved communities, support our teams on the ground, and bring in the extra hands we need,” Dr Owusu said.

Mr Basintale added that the programme is not only a way to expand emergency response services, but also a way to reduce youth unemployment across the country.

“By the end of the year, we’ll not only be counting the number of jobs we have created, but the number of lives we have saved as a result of this programme,” he said.

The deployment is expected to spread across electoral areas nationwide, with the aim of reducing the time it takes to respond to emergencies, especially in areas without regular ambulance services.

The National Ambulance Service will lead the training and certification process.

The Youth Employment Agency will be responsible for recruitment and posting of the responders.

The two agencies expect to launch full operations after training is completed, with the 6,000 responders stationed across the country to meet the target of reaching any emergency within ten minutes.