The second Saturday of September falls on 10 September this year. More than 100 Red Cross and Red Crescent societies around the world have been marking World First Aid Day since 2000 so as to raise public awareness of how first aid activities can save lives every day and in situations of crisis.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) believes that first aid should be accessible to all including the most vulnerable, and should also be an integral part of a wider developmental approach.
Most of the accidents may leave injuries and deaths. Likewise, most of the attacks caused by humans or animals may bring casualties to society. Moreover, people may face loss and damage of property and death and injuries in natural disasters. In these cases, as bleeding may be harmful to life, emergency patients need first-aid treatment for saving their lives.
In fact, those persons who give first-aid treatment to emergency patients in any accidents should be honoured for their noble spirit. They treat the patients unexpectedly with the use of their skills and talents, especially voluntary spirit without hoping for any rewards. Sometimes, those volunteers sacrifice their life and limbs in giving treatments to emergency patients in dangerous situations such as skirmishes, violent natural disasters and other irregular situations.
In Myanmar, many voluntary organizations especially the Red Cross brigades under the Myanmar Red Cross Society are reserved forces of the nation in order to save the people in various kinds of crises due to unexpected occurrences. Members of those organizations prioritize the first-aid treatments to be given to the injured persons by setting aside their interests and own affairs. They apply first-aid techniques they learned in saving injured persons and persons suffering unexpected shocks.
First aid is about the first response after injury and it can be done by anyone, friends, teachers, colleagues and paramedics. It is necessary to give training on techniques of first-aid treatment to the youths of school students as part of nurturing them as new generation forces. It is necessary to reinforce the first-aid knowledge of students and introduce the work of the Red Cross and the Red Crescent. Moreover, student youths need to be introduced to a global angle the World First Aid Day by asking students to consider access to first aid in more deprived communities and overseas. If so, student youths will have a golden hand to give first-aid treatment to those from accidents.
