LifeSaversNG Trains Youths on First Aid

• Says 9 in 10 Nigerians lack emergency care knowledge

Martins Ifijeh

No fewer than 25 youths have been trained on basic first aid First skills by the LifeSavers Initiative for First Aid Education in Nigeria (LifeSaversNG) in Benin city, recently.

Founder of the NGO, Ogbemudia Eddy Uwoghiren, who is a fifth year medical student in the University of Benin, said the world would be a safer place if everyone has basic first aid skills.

At the training tagged #Pulse4Beats 1.0, Uwoghiren said, the organisation received a total of 174 applications for the training slot and had a tough time selecting the 27 most motivated applicants.

“Our plan is to create a world where everyone has basic first aid skills, and we want to positively impact communities by equipping them with first aid equipment.

“Prompt pre-hospital care is necessary to improve outcome of road traffic accident victims, however this service is suboptimal in Nigeria and some developing countries because of lack of Emergency Medical Services (EMS). Training of lay responders is however a means of filling this gap in settings with inadequate EMS.

He said statistics have shown that nine in 10 Nigerians lack basic first aid skill, while in the United States, it is three in 10. “This dearth of first aid knowledge has led to an increase in death rate during emergencies, and a poor ranking of Nigeria’s Heath sector (187 out of 190 countries).”

He appreciated the University Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academics) Professor Pius Iribhogbe, a professor of Trauma Surgery for his support during the planning of the programme.

A paramedic staff at the Accident and Emergency Department of University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH), Micah Iduitua, took participants through Basic Life Support Skills (BLS) including airway opening manoeuvres, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, mouth to mask ventilation, bad valve mask ventilation, choking relief and haemorrhage control.

He said: “First aid should also cover areas around snake bites, drug overdose, syncope, recovery position, maintaining C spine, among others.” After the training, the participants were engaged in practical classes.