It is a sad state of affairs that in a province that has been on the frontline of militancy, the average person doesn’t even know how to properly bandage a wound, let alone tie a tourniquet. Despite hundreds of attacks there is no official initiative to teach ‘first aid’ as a subject at school and college levels to train students to tackle emergency situations.

It was not always so; in the past, the Civil Defence Department (CDD) used to give first aid training to volunteers and the Pakistan Army ran the National Cadet Course (NCC) at the Intermediate level in the public sector colleges from the early 80s till late 90s.

During the training, lessons were given in first aid and rescue operations, and students were tutored by professional trainers in civil defence, self-protection and tackling difficult and challenging situations emerging from earthquakes, fire, floods, bomb blasts, etc. Scouts in public sector schools also received first aid training but that trend has also come to an end, and this couldn’t have happened at a worse time. Mohammad Yousaf Khan, a senior teacher at Government Higher Secondary School, Peshawar Cantt, told Dawn that in most schools and college neither teachers nor students are trained in first aid, nor does any educational institution in KP have any safety facility or programme to combat any emergency situation. “Parents and teachers should join hands with health and education departments to chalk out a comprehensive plan to impart first aid training and facility to educational institutions in KP and Fata,” Mr Khan advised.

Luckily, he’s not the only one who feels this need. Dr Samreen Khan, a young medical graduate, has come up with a well-articulated plan which, if executed, could prove useful not only for individuals and the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, but the entire country.

Holding certificates in Basic Life Support (BLS) and Advanced Life Support (ALS), she is working on a plan to engage people from healthcare services, law-enforcement agencies, law-makers, media persons and civil society members to take some initiatives for first aid training.

“In developed countries, basic first aid training is imparted at primary school level but unfortunately, in our country it is not even compulsory for medical students. I think the least we can do is to teach it at college level (FSC/A Level) and make it compulsory for medical students,” Dr Khan suggested.

She regretted that there was no central body in the KP health ministry dedicated to teaching and training in disaster management; there is also no set curriculum for prevention, preparedness, and relief and recovery stages of disaster management.

“Individual and group efforts run on personal initiatives are commendable, but lack of training and awareness of possible complications leaves much to be desired given our haphazard rescue and relief operations,” Dr Khan said.

She has sent her idea to the National Disaster Management (NDM) and provincial health ministry and is waiting for a response.

When contacted, an official in the KP health ministry said that a proposed first aid draft bill was in process, adding that due consideration would be given to its implementation if found feasible.

In the meantime, it is Rescue 1122, which became operational in September 2010 in the Peshawar and Mardan districts of KP, which is taking up the slack. It has trained 4,000 volunteers and about 1,000 organisations including educational institutions, factories and awareness programmes.

Bilal Faizi, spokesperson of Rescue 1122, said that citizens are the first responders to any emergency situation; they reach the scene before any rescue team or aid arrives and could help a lot if equipped with adequate first aid training and rescue techniques.

“I strongly believe that first aid training should be made part of the curriculum at the primary school level as a compulsory subject so that children can learn how to implement first aid tips in emergency situation in their homes, neighbourhood and elsewhere. At least one person in a family needs to take first aid training,” Mr Faizi urged. Rescue 1122 provides free training services, while running six stations in Peshawar and will soon will be available in Swat and Dera Ismail Khan districts. “Teaching first aid as a subject in schools and colleges will greatly help volunteers and rescue teams carry out successful rescue and rehabilitation operations and generate general awareness about the importance of taking first aid training,” says Dr Khatir, Acting Director General Rescue 1122. All that remains, then, is for the KP govt to take the first step. Perhaps others will than follow their lead.