International world first aid day is a worldwide campaign celebrated every second Saturday of September in different countries of the world under the auspices of the international federation of red cross and red crescent societies. It is a day set aside with the aim of reaching people on the significance of first aid and the function in that it plays in providing assistance to human life. Emergency treatment which is a form of treatment administered to an individual in need before arrival of formal medical personnel can be a decisive factor between life and death. With adequate knowledge in first aid, the person can be able to decide and administer proper care during emergencies.
The Importance of First Aid
First aid means the initial treatment offered to people who are harmed or in some way acutely ill. This may involve treating a burn or gaining access to a patient with arrest breathations or providing control to massive bleeding. It is very important to emphasize on the aspects of first aid since its application may halt the deterioration of the condition of a person, decrease the levels of pain, and in some cases prevent death.
For example, a choking, a drowning man or a heart attack patient may be deprived of oxygen for as little as five minutes before the harm is done. In this kind of scenario, knowledge of simple first aid including stuff like Heimlich maneuver or cardiopulmonary resuscitation could be a life savior. Likewise, first aid in severe injury such as cuts or fractures would help minimize further complications such as infections or disability. Sometimes, outcomes may be desired depending on the kind of emergency, the earlier treatment is received the better the results. The Objectives of World First Aid Day
It will be worthy to realize that the objectives of the World First Aid Day include multiple goals. First, it raises people’s consciousness about how significant first aid knowledge is to all people. Given that a number of accidents and injuries occur daily at home, at the workplace or at school, it only requires actions by any onlooker to save a life. This day also concerns people with low awareness level of first aid training and also target towards calling for more people to come forward to enhance first aid training and importance of being prepared for such cases.
Second, the day helps governments and organizations put more focus on first aid training. It also encourages community, companies and school organizations to include first aid training as part of the group’s activities. Through education and training, people are assured of how they can hold their ground especially during emergencies.
Last of all, the day gives people a notion that first aid is a humanitarian work. This is remarkable since the act of first aid is humanity’s intervention to assist fellow human beings who are in distress.
Global Impact of First Aid Education
Conclusively, the use of first aid education has served the world a major milestone in many ways. In the global arena, being learnt from several organizations such as the IFRC, millions of people enjoy first help reach in the world. This just goes on to show how essential these skills are in a person’s daily existence, for instance, before one is permitted to operate a car in Europe, he or she must master first aid skills and undergo a driving test.
In most of the countries especially in Africa, Asia as well as Latam first aid is very important because sometimes there are no adequate health facility services. In fact, most of the time, individuals who dwell in the rural or other parts of the country cannot easily access doctors or hospital telling of their condition. To them coming up with first aid knowledge is very crucial since they may not have any nearby health care center. Furthermore, a big loss, be it natural such as an earthquake, a flood, or man-made such as an accidents occurring on the aspects of traffic, overloads the emergency services. In such cases, the basic life-saving intervention from any ordinary member of society can go a long way to tackle the magnanimity of deaths related to injuries and further defer the burden from our health care systems.
First Aid in Daily Life
First aid is not only a practice that is confined to catastrophic like major disasters or catastrophes. It therefore has a central function in people’s lives during each day. That could be a child who has fallen down and skinned his knee, a burn which has been caused while handling food on the stovetop, or an older adult who has had a fall and broken a bone, basic first aid is required. Knowledge of such simple first-aid measures as wound cleansing, bandage application, assessment of a stroke or myocardial infarction signs helps avoid adverse developments and contribute to better outcomes in further treatment.
First aid training in the workplace means that workers can minimize the consequences of such events as electric shock, cut or fall at work and even may help to save lives. A number of school going kids have been protected from worst results of accidents because teachers and other staff at school possessed adequate first aid knowledge.
Conclusion
World First Aid Day is one of the strongest calls for people to remember that first aid is not the job for a professional only, but each person. In the world today, nobody knows when an accident or a health emergency will occur, basic first aid knowledge can go along way into saving a life. Not only does this global campaign involve encouraging people to receive first aid training, but it also focuses on the importance of people’s duty to look after their neighbors. Influencing the general population to join first aid courses and trainings we can create a pool of a prepared humanitarian society which can help in case of emergencies. On this World First Aid Day, I encourage everyone to take a step forward and take necessary steps to learn, practice and educating others about the important techniques that maybe can help someone in future.
Written By: –
Rtr. Imeth Nenuka
(Blog Team Member 2024-25)
Edited By:
Rtr. Thisara Kuruppuarachchi
(Blog Team Member 2024-25)