By Godwin Ajom
A total of 25 professional Journalists drawn from CrossRiverWatch, The Nation, Arise, NTA, and other selected media outfits have been trained on first-aid response by the Nigerian Red Cross Society (NRS) in collaboration with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
Speaking shortly after the three-day event held in Calabar, the capital of Cross River State, the Secretary of Nigerian Red Cross Society, Cross River State, Mr. Eni Joseph, said the reason to train journalists in the state is due to their exposure to professional fieldwork and expressed optimism the training will be of help to them, colleagues, families and friends during an emergency.
“We’re happy for the skill you have acquired and we are sure we have added to the pool of first aiders we have globally. We thank the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). This is the second time that we are training Journalists in Cross River State,” he expressed.
He further explained that, “The idea of training Journalists is not new for us, this is the second time of initiating it, it is to help caution the risk that Journalists face in their job.
Acknowledging the importance of first-aid skill as life saving, he said all trained Journalists are expected to update their knowledge after every three years to help update the skill and keep saving lives.
Giving insights into the training, Mr. Daniel Edobor, First-aid and Pre-hospital Care Specialist for the International Committee of Red Cross, Abuja office, reiterated the essence of the training to the men of the Fourth Estate of the Realm who are on the front line at all time in the course of exercising their constitutional duties.
The training focused on recovery position, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) procedure, stopping bleeding, fracture management, home injuries management, burns, bites and emergency transportation of victims to the hospital for treatment and more.
According to Edobor, “I am confident that participating Journalists are better first aiders because we did not do so much on writing, but we focused on consistent hands-on skill for the three days. We advise them to teach their colleagues, to retain memories of lessons learned,” he encouraged.
Journalists were also exposed to global standards and contents, usage and application of the first-aid kit, as first responders to prevent situations from getting worse.
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