TheCable

Flying Doctors Nigeria, West Africa’s first air ambulance service, has bagged the International Assistance Group (IAG) accreditation.

IAG is France-based international group with the world’s largest alliance of independent assistance companies and accredited providers. It has a network specialisation in worldwide roadside, medical, travel, corporate and home assistance for business and leisure travellers, expatriate workers and corporate client.

Jibayo Oyedele, one of the group’s medical directors, said the accreditation was approved after a thorough physical audit by an international team and strict vetting by the IAG board.

He said the international accreditation will add to the quality of its operations even though the group’s aircraft are already regulated by Nigerian authorities,

“The aircrafts used by Flying Doctors are regulated by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, and the team of doctors from the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria, MDCN. But the team felt that in addition to local regulation, they were ready to take the exciting step to pursue international accreditation,” he said.

Oyedele, the group’s second-largest shareholder, said the alliance with IAG offers an opportunity to further collaborate with other partners and providers in the network.

According to the statement, IAG is a network of partners and accredited service providers currently supporting over 118 million end-users worldwide. It has recorded 5.6million cases, 623,640 medical cases, 20,649 medical repatriations, among other strides.