MUZAFFARABAD:A four-day emergency response team workshop organized by the Azad Jammu and Kashmir State Branch of the Pakistan Red Crescent Society (PRCS) in collaboration with the British Red Cross was concluded in Kel on Sunday.
As many as 20 men and women attended the training held at the Government Middle School, Kel. The workshop aimed at improving the skills of responders and strengthening the response mechanism for accidents, disasters and other emergencies in Neelum district, particularly in Kel.
AJK Red Crescent secretary Gulzar Fatima was the chief guest at the concluding ceremony.
Speaking on the occasion, Ms Fatima said that the organization had earlier set up emergency response teams in Athmuqam and Sharda tehsils of Neelum to ensure timely response to accidents and other crises. She said that calamities and accidents were not socially neutral as the poor and vulnerable were their worst victims.
Ms Fatima said that during the recent floods, the Red Crescent’s mobile health unit had provided basic healthcare and medicines to 12,000 people at their doorsteps in Neelum. In addition, she said, 150 affected women, including pregnant and lactating mothers, were each given Rs45,000 in cash assistance.
Encouraging women participants, she said their presence in the training was a pleasant surprise and a source of great happiness for her.
Referring to climate change, Ms Fatima said that it was taking place rapidly in Neelum, with indiscriminate deforestation as its biggest cause, leading to disasters such as cloudbursts and floods. ‘We have to secure the future of coming generations,’ she said.
She said that similar emergency training workshops were also being held in other districts along the Line of Control (LoC), expressing the hope that the trained volunteers would play an effective role at the local level and raise awareness among the people. She thanked the British Red Cross and the PRCS National Headquarters for their support.
During the workshop, the participants were briefed on the history, fundamental principles, vision and mission of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, as well as the Red Crescent’s ongoing programmes and humanitarian initiatives.
They were given training in emergency response, disaster management, pre-hospital first aid and basic medical aid, including measures to deal with choking and burns, restoring breathing and blood circulation in case of a heart attack, and transporting the injured to hospital.
Participants were also made aware of local hazards and the steps needed to deal with them.
On the final day, they took part in practical drills demonstrating timely medical assistance, patient transfer to hospital, search and rescue, emergency evacuation and coordination among organizations during emergencies.
At the end of the exercises, Ms Fatima distributed certificates among the participants.