I have had to make three emergency calls in my lifetime. The first was in the United States in 2017 when I dialed 911. The other two were here in Ghana, both to 191, after witnessing road accidents.
The first was in 2022, and the second was in the first week of September 2025. Each of these calls left me with a very different impression of what emergency response means in practice.
In the United States, the emergency involved a medical situation at home. The call was answered almost immediately. From the first second, I was engaged by a calm and structured operator who asked detailed questions, reassured me, and stayed on the line until the paramedics physically arrived at my door. Even as the emergency team was en route, I was receiving coordinated updates. The system was seamless, efficient, and confidence-inspiring.
By contrast, my calls to 191 in Ghana followed a different pattern. In the most recent case this month, the phone rang for close to 40 seconds, during which I heard the kind of background tones companies use on their landlines.
By the time an operator answered, the entire call lasted barely 60 seconds, with little detail taken. Some minutes later, I received a follow-up call from an unknown mobile number that lasted only 45 seconds, where a police officer asked questions that should have been addressed during the initial call, such as how many cars were involved, whether a tow truck was needed, and if an ambulance should be dispatched.
In both Ghanaian cases, the engagement with the operator was shallow. Few structured questions were asked, and the sense of urgency felt absent. What followed was a scatter of mobile calls, not an integrated response.
This fragmented approach is not only inefficient, it is risky. Many Ghanaians, myself included, sometimes do not pick calls from unfamiliar numbers. Had I ignored those follow-up calls, vital details could have been lost, delaying the response even further.
I must stress: I am not a medical professional, nor do I claim insider knowledge of how our national emergency systems are designed. I am an ordinary Ghanaian who has seen enough to recognize that something is wrong somewhere.
Confusion in emergency numbers
Another structural gap lies in the numbers themselves. Ghana currently operates three different emergency hotlines, 191, 192, and 193, depending on whether the police, ambulance, or fire service is needed.
To complicate matters further, additional short codes such as 85555 are sometimes publicized for emergencies.
In a crisis, clarity is everything. Citizens should not be burdened with trying to remember which number to dial as precious seconds slip away.
The best global practice is a single, harmonized emergency number. The United States has 911, the European Union has 112, and many African countries are moving toward harmonization. Ghana must do the same.
Beyond the Police: A holistic emergency response
The gaps I observed are not unique to police calls. They reflect a wider challenge across emergency services, whether ambulances, fire service, or disaster relief coordination.
In recent years, we have seen tragic stories of ambulances arriving late, fire outbreaks left to spread, and accident victims waiting endlessly for coordinated rescue.
Emergency response is not only about answering calls, it is about integration. A well-functioning system links together call centers, ambulance dispatch, police patrols, fire brigades, and hospitals.
The caller should never have to wonder which service to contact, or receive scattered follow-up calls from unrelated numbers. With a proper integrated system, one call triggers a chain of coordinated responses.
Why the system matters
A reliable emergency response system is not a luxury. It is a pillar of public safety. It affects road safety, healthcare, disaster management, and even national security. Citizens need to trust that when they dial for help, they will encounter:
• Immediate and professional engagement with trained call handlers.
• Standardized questioning to quickly gather critical details such as location, type of emergency, and number of people involved.
• Integrated dispatch systems so that police, fire, and ambulance services are notified simultaneously, not through scattered follow-up calls.
• Continuous caller engagement for assurance, guidance, and updates until help arrives.
When these elements are missing, lives are placed at risk. In road accidents, minutes matter. In heart attacks or strokes, seconds matter. In fires, delay means devastation.
The way forward
Ghana does not lack the capacity to build a modern emergency response system. What is needed is prioritization. Some urgent reforms are needed:
1. Harmonize the emergency numbers into one single national hotline.
2. Establish a centralized emergency call center with integrated technology that connects police, ambulance, fire, and disaster services.
3. Train operators to handle panic situations, ask structured questions, and coordinate multi-service responses.
4. Create accountability mechanisms by logging, monitoring, and evaluating calls for speed and quality.
5. Undertake public education campaigns so citizens know what to expect when they dial for help.
6. Invest in infrastructure, from more ambulances and fire engines to GPS-enabled systems that can locate callers without delays.
A call to action
Emergencies do not wait for bureaucracy. Every accident, every fire, every sudden illness is a test of how prepared we are as a nation.
The difference between life and death often lies in the first five minutes, and that is where our system must work without fail.
It is time for Ghana to rethink its emergency response framework. Harmonization, integration, and professionalism must replace confusion, fragmentation, and delays.
When a Ghanaian dials for help, the experience should not be uncertainty and frustration, but trust and swift action.
A single emergency number. A centralized, well-trained response system. Continuous caller engagement until help arrives. These are not impossible dreams, they are achievable necessities.
The time for reform is now.
Lom Nuku Ahlijah is a Ghanaian lawyer, academic, and entrepreneur whose work bridges law, policy, and business. He is the author of Ghana Energy Law and Policy: Electricity and leads initiatives such as the Ghana Energy Hub. His writings explore how legal frameworks can drive development in Ghana and beyond.