First Aid: A Life-Saving Tool

Pakistan is highly exposed to climate-induced disasters, especially floods. History shows that human lives have been hard-hit by flooding events. Over 30 million people in Pakistan have been affected by torrential rains and flash floods since June 2022.

The deaths and injuries left at least 496 children killed and nearly 4,000 children hurt in the 2022 flood. Estimates indicate that over 1,460 health facilities have been affected by floods, and the health sector reports that access to health facilities, healthcare workers, and essential medicines and medical supplies remains limited. Early disease surveillance indicates that tens of thousands of people are affected by diarrhea, malaria, acute respiratory infections, skin and eye infections and typhoid. An outbreak of acute watery diarrhoea (AWD) has reportedly affected people by 45% in the flooded area. In Pakistan, earthquakes, floods, and windstorms are common natural disasters.

“Timely first aid can be the difference between life and death.”

As part of our efforts to raise awareness in making affectees’ lives better, we, the students of Amal Career Fellowship, have decided to take steps to assist those who are adversely affected by this tragedy by giving first aid training to volunteers who are going to these flood affected areas to help them.

Root cause of the problem

Root Cause Analysis (RCA) is a popular and widely used technique that assists people in determining why an issue occurred in the first place. It aims to locate the causal factors of an issue by following a defined set of processes and applying relevant techniques. If victims of the flood had received first aid in a timely manner, the vast majority of these injuries and fatalities could have been avoided. Until assistance is obtained from a medical practitioner or nurse, first aid serves the purpose of preserving life.

First aid is defined as emergency medical assistance that can save a person’s life, prevent a situation from worsening, or help someone recover faster. Medical practitioners receive extensive training in first aid, while other professions recommend or require employees to be familiar with basic first aid. Thousands of people are seriously wounded or killed in accidents each year in Pakistan. Many deaths can be avoided if first aid is administered in advance of the arrival of emergency services. After the flood, roads and bridges were badly damaged and many remote villages were cut off. First aid provided by the people could have reduced the death toll drastically. 25% to 50% of flood victims who were injured and died slowly could have been saved if first aid had been rendered immediately.

A major problem in our society is that there is no education regarding first aid. People are unable to deal with emergencies like road accidents, blasts, fires, floods, earthquakes, etc. They do not realise the importance of first aid training. Therefore, we, as a team, have decided to focus on raising awareness through first aid training for the people who are voluntarily working in the flooded area. We will particularly be working with university students as we believe that giving first aid training to university students is a valuable investment for both the present and the future to save human lives and to prevent any major loss like this.

How are people getting affected?

“We believe that anyone who needs first aid should receive it, but our latest research shows that’s just not happening.” (Sue Killen, Chief Executive of St. John Ambulance)

Majorly, first aid is required for medical emergencies such as strokes, seizures, and heart attacks, as well as for minor medical conditions like nosebleeds and some allergic reactions. Every person needs to recognise that in an emergency, you are part of the chain of survival. First aid intervention of any kind is infrequent and we want people to do something in those crucial minutes before the ambulance arrives or if a general practitioner is not available during that time. Almost 150,000 people are dying yearly because first aid is not widely known. According to new research commissioned by the British Red Cross and conducted by the University of Manchester, up to 59% of ‘pre-hospital’ deaths from injury could potentially be avoided if people knew how to provide simple first aid.

Target Audience

The main target audience is composed of students from universities who do not know about this and the people who are going to the flood affected area. According to our research, only 5% of adults have the skills and confidence to provide first aid in emergencies. We want to work for them and give them experience and confidence related to this. For this, we researched different articles, blogs and used search engines to find authentic answers. Our initiative, in this case, is very helpful for the youth and it suits the current situation as we are facing a flood crisis and if we have knowledge and confidence, we can at least save someone’s life which is most crucial keeping in mind the concept of humanity.

We want to make ourselves aware that the safety of the victim comes first and that he is an asset that needs to be saved. When you arrive at an accident scene, your first action should be to check for any potential hazards to yourself or bystanders. Manage any dangers discovered (if safe to do so). Check, call, and care are the three basic Cs to remember. There are also three Ps to remember when it comes to first aid i.e., preserve life, prevent deterioration, and promote recovery.

What is already being done?

We evaluated how many non-governmental organisations (NGOs) or organisations are striving to provide flood victims with first aid training or first aid kits. Although they are supplying these places with medicine in massive quantities, relatively very few people know the most basic first aid training. Therefore, even though the disease or injury can be treated with first aid, because of a lack of knowledge and training, the affected people must wait for doctors to arrive in their region and provide them with the necessary medical care. Volunteers with first aid training by offering basic care to victims can lighten the load on medical professionals and free them up to handle more serious cases.

For research on that approach, we especially looked at surveys carried out across Pakistan and also questioned friends about their knowledge of first aid. Also, in order to find out how many individuals are using first aid to help one another in this emergency crisis, we also gathered information from flood-affected regions. The majority of people in flood-affected areas are uncertain of how to approach this and how it can benefit them as only around 2% of them know what first aid is and how it is used.

User Persona

“Helping others should come naturally. It shouldn’t be a question of “why should I do it, but how can I do it.”

Ali, in his teens, was a great believer in this quote and wanted to help mankind with all his might. In his childhood, whenever he saw an accident, it anxious him and he was scared of the blood on the black concrete road and felt sad that he couldn’t help the poor souls as he was small, but now that he is young and is capable of helping people, especially those who want first aid. He doesn’t want to be one of those spectators who only make videos and make serious situations into thrillers for fun. As a concerned member of society, he began to understand the skill of first aid and realised that it was one of the essentials of life.

Airway, Breathing, Circulation, Disability, and Exposure are the fundamental stages to take in order to fully comprehend first aid, and they are represented by the acronym “ABCDE” in first aid. Furthermore, he realises that maybe people will not believe him or not make him help at the site, but despite all such fears, he attended 3–4 sessions on first aid and learned the basics like bandaging, giving CPR and carrying the person to the nearest hospital. He also had a first aid kit in which there were bandages, medicines, pyodine, scissors and ointments for the patients.

He knew he was not perfect, but the spirit of helping others especially to flood affectees at the time of calamity made him feel that he was doing something right for the people and for himself. As he learned these techniques, he now teaches others this too, so that the chain doesn’t stop and we can all serve humanity together. Human beings were sent to earth to help and be a source of solace in the hour of need for each other but the question arises how or if they are even trying to help each other or just indulge in creating more problems for each other.

If we want to make our earth and mankind survive, we have to work together to learn some basic survival skills like providing first aid at the site of accidents. This skill is really important to learn because we could save a life before it’s too late. According to research from the World Youth Report 2022, 15.1% of the world’s total population are youngsters. Because they are young blood, they have a greater capacity to work and assist others in the event of disasters such as floods, earthquakes, and accidents. The difference can only be made if we teach and inform our youth about the importance of first aid so that they learn, are well-equipped, and consider it their responsibility to provide first aid in the event of an accident.