IRAQ: The need for public first-aid training as violence continues

-Despite a horrendous deterioration of security, the government has done little to promote first-aid and emergency awareness among the citizenry. “We Iraqis never receive first-aid lessons – not in school or at our jobs,” said Mashhadanny. “For this reason, we’re not prepared for saving lives.” There are no government agencies involved in the dissemination of first-aid information and only very few local NGOs doing it. NGOs, however, tend to focus attention on volunteers and not the general population. “The best way to teach people is by introducing it as a discipline in schools and universities,” said Dr Muhammad Jarnoon, a teacher at Baghdad University’s medical faculty. “This way, children will teach their parents about first aid.” Nevertheless, the ministries of health, education and the interior are taking steps towards introducing first-aid to primary- and secondary-school curricula. “We know that first-aid is essential in a country where security is deeply compromised,” said education ministry official Sharkis Yehia. “But we also need time to introduce it to the school system.”

Read entire article: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=53854&SelectRegion=Middle_East&SelectCountry=IRAQ

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