Wale Sanyaolu
As part of efforts to commemorate the World First Aids Day, a non-governmental organisation (NGO), Aid to Aid International, in conjunction with the Lagos Country Club, Ikeja recently organised first Aid training for kids and families.
The event which is in its second edition held at the prestigious Country Club, Ikeja, Lagos with no fewer than 200 participants, including children and adults who were tutored on the basics of first aid.
In his welcome address, the Team Lead, Aid to Aid International, Mr. Tokunbo Obadofin, while appreciating other partners in the training programme, including the National Association of Seadogs (NAS), Ikeja Chapter, also known as the Pyrates Confraternity, told participants to always show resilience on the field, especially during emergencies.
According to him, the organization has the vision of creating a Nigeria where everyone has basic First Aid skills in order to reduce the number of fatalities during emergency situations.
He explained that the organization’s mission was to positively impact families and the society at large by equipping at least one member of every Nigerian household with basic First Aid education and equipment.
“Swift pre-hospital care is necessary to improve the outcome of all accident casualty conditions, however this service is below par in Nigeria because of lack of Emergency Medical Services (EMS). Training of first responders in First Aid remained a means of bridging the gap of the almost non-existent first aid responders in Nigeria. This obviously translates to higher death rates during emergencies because some of these deaths can be avoided,” he said.
In the meantime, participants took to the free blood pressure test booth provided at the venue to get their pressures tested and advice on how to manage blood pressure issues.
On the training proper, the facilitator; a general practitioner and renowned First Aider with Lifenest Hospital Ltd, Gbagada, Dr. Umeh Chima Bede, tutored participants on a step by step training session on the basic rudiments of First Aid, Basic Life Support Skills (BLS), including airway opening maneuvers, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), near drowning recovery position, mouth to mouth resuscitation, choking relief and hemorrhage control.
Other components of his lecture included bites and stings, burns and scalds, recovery position with practical sessions carried out simultaneously.
Also on hand to carry out a separate training session on issues relating to hypertension, blood pressures and general health care was a specialist in Cardiology, who works with Mayriamville Medical Center, Dr. Ibe Marius.
Marius took the participants on a 40 minute lecture on heart monitoring, care and treatment using statistics of the free blood pressure tests conducted at the venue as a yard stick.
Statistics from the blood pressure booth showed that an average of 45 percent of the participants who conducted the test had high blood pressure issues.
Marius, was however, quick to disabuse the mind of participants that having high blood pressure was a terminal diseases, adding that the best form to address the challenge was through health management and regular check ups
For his part, Head of Business Development, Aid to Aid international Mr. Ekene Onyeka, commended the Sponsors; The Lagos Country Club, DHL Nigeria, National Association of Seadogs, Aziza Design, Iso-Black concepts, APS Consulting, Layer 3 communications, H&R Orbit, Qadre Communications and supporters; Nkoro 247 in ensuring that preventable deaths remained a thing of the past.
Also speaking, the President of NAS, Ikeja Chapter, Mr. Godstime Awoze, said the initiative by all the partners remained a laudable one, adding that it could just be anyone or kids that would be at home when an emergency situation would occur, adding that the training they have acquired would go a long way in salving a critical situation.
The highlight of the event was the presentation of gift items courtesy DHL Nigeria and mini first aid kits courtesy of NAS.