The National Ambulance Service (NAS) needs support from government and non-governmental organisations to build an emergency medical service for the country, Mr Rojo Mettle-Nunoo, Deputy Minister of Health said on Monday. At the presentation of a brand new ambulance by authorities of the New Apostolic Church to the Ministry of Health, he said any contribution that would help the ministry to achieve its objective was most welcome. Mr Mettlew-Nunoo said the country was bedevilled with a lot of challenges which the Ministry would endeavour to address. These include high mortality rates as a result of road accidents and delay to access maternal care. He expressed the ministry's appreciation to the church and said the ambulance would augment its fleet of ambulance service. He said the donation was the beginning of a long partnership and that there was the need to educate the youth and public on basic first aid tips to help save lives. Mr Mettle-Nunoo said most often the handling of injured persons resulted in death rather than the accident itself. The NAS currently operates 24 stations all over the country and for a population of more than 24 million, the facilities were inadequate to cater for the health needs. Apostle Michael Enrich, President of the Church, said it was first established in Ghana with seven people at Abura in the Central Region and now had about 3,300 members nation-wide. The church, he said, did not burden its members but they paid tithe according to the dictates of the gospel and used its resources for missionary work as well as construction and maintenance of their building. He mentioned US, Haiti, India, Bangladesh and Malawi as some of the countries it had assisted when in need. He said the ambulance should serve James Town in Accra, its environs and in particular the Princess Maria Louis Hospital. Source: GNA