To curb the rising preventable deaths across Nigeria, the Help Buddy Emergency Response Solution has launched a grassroots campaign to train 50 million Nigerians and equip them with life-saving knowledge through QR codes and mobile technology.

The co-founders of the group, Dr Oluwakolade Abayomi, Dr Ayodotun Bobadoye, and Dr Ademolu Owoyele, made this known during a courtesy visit to the Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, to seek government collaboration on the “social re-engineering campaign.”

The delegation raised urgent concerns about Nigeria’s emergency response culture, where the gap between the moment a medical crisis strikes and professional intervention remains fatally wide.

“People are dying not because help is unavailable, but because bystanders don’t know what to do,” said Bobadoye, Chief Operating Officer of GET Consortium. “When someone collapses or is hit by a car, the first five minutes are critical. Many people always pull out their phones to record. That culture must change.”

The initiative seeks to bridge that gap through accessible emergency instructions made available via QR codes placed in strategic public locations like schools, malls, bus terminals, offices, and places of worship.

According to them, scanning the code provides users with step-by-step guides on administering first aid, CPR, bleeding control, and stabilisation techniques, as well as information on nearby intensive care units and ambulance services.

“We’re not building an app, we’re launching a campaign,” said Abayomi, co-founder and Managing Director of Wellane Health. “This is about grassroots visibility.”

The CEO of Harley and Rainbow Specialized Laboratories, Owoyele, stressed the importance of education over emergency hardware. “The ambulance is one part of the programme,” he said. “Almost nine in ten Nigerians don’t know what to do in an emergency.”

But almost 100 million Nigerians have mobile phones. Let’s use that tool to close the knowledge gap.”

In response, Abayomi welcomed the initiative, describing it as “timely and necessary” for building resilient community-based health systems. He commended the team’s innovation and pledged the state’s willingness to collaborate.

“The Lagos State government recognises that responsive and community-led interventions are central to saving lives,” said Abayomi. “What Help Buddy is proposing aligns with our health security goals.”

As part of this collaboration, the group will host an Emergency Response Summit in partnership with the Lagos State Government. The event aims to convene key stakeholders from the public and private sectors to accelerate the nationwide adoption of emergency preparedness and first responder literacy.