Knowledge, practice about first aid key to response in emergency

F.P. Report

PESHAWAR: While enhancing basic knowledge, practice, and techniques of First Aid, a total of 1,730 males among them 119 females have been trained under the First Aid program in newly-merged-tribal districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa so that they response efficiently in natural and made disasters.

These trainings have been conducted in first quarter of 2019 in merged districts including Khyber, Mohmand, Bajaur, Kurram, Orakzai, Frontier Region Tank, South Waziristan and North Waziristan tribal district by First Aid Trainers of Pakistan Red Crescent Society Merged Areas Headquarter, informed media and communication department on Saturday. A total of 88 trainings have been carried out in abovementioned areas.

As many as 90 females of Kurram Tribal District, 23 Khyber and six followed by Bajaur District, it added. The target audience includes volunteers, community elders, taxi drivers, levy forces, journalists, paramedical staff, housewives, teachers and religious seminary who availed First Aid Trainings in their respective tribal areas.

Secretary PRCS Merged Areas Headquarter, Saeed Kamal Mehsud while sharing his viewpoints on First Aid program with media said that our mandate and responsibility is to response in natural and manmade disasters and provide relief to affected community on priority basis. He said that first aid response during emergency situation and peacetime is part of the response which on one way or other will be rendered to community.

About firs aid program, he said and adding we have a well-experienced team in this program that have even trained doctors in merged areas. With help of this program, basic knowledge, skills and techniques of first aid have been imparted to community for activating them to response in case of emergency and peacetime, he added.

The basic aim of training community is to  boost their knowledge, practice and techniques of First Aid and also to response efficiently in natural and manmade disasters, said Iftekhar Ahmad, First Coordinator PRCS MA Headquarter. Besides, our objective is to minimize the risk of incidents in emergencies and handling and transportation of casualties to be made professionally by training community members, he elaborated.

“Our slogans from 2015 to 2020 is to create a First Aider at Every Home, First Aid for Everyone and Everywhere and lastly Saving Lives Changing Minds” he stated. Mr.Iftekhar was of the view that demands of first aid trainings are being made by people after they were properly trained and now they consider it a basic needs of life. People in way-off areas are constantly demanding to train females so that they could get basic knowledge of first aid, he said.

He further informed that first aid teams are being deployed on national days like 23rd March, Nowruz Festival in Kurram, 14th August, Muharram, Chehlum, Eid Miladul Nabi, Election Day and others for giving forthwith response in case of any untoward incidents.