Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday ordered the initiation of a nationwide project to teach people, particularly the youth, life-saving skills in order to save lives.
Salman Sufi, the head of the Prime Minister’s Strategic Reforms Unit (SRU), issued instructions to officials in each province, educational institutions, and other relevant areas to make arrangements for people to receive training.
So that they might assist people in life-threatening circumstances including drowning, fire, cardiac arrest, fractures, and other critical scenarios.
In educational institutions, the government will also revive the culture of first-aid skills, scouting, and national camping school instruction.
Mr. Sufi told Dawn that the initiative’s main goal was to establish cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training across the country, citing the Holy Prophet’s (peace be upon him) admonition that “saving one life means saving humanity.”
“The prime minister directed me to kick-start a nationwide CPR training campaign on an immediate basis,” he added, adding that the nationwide CPR training was the first of a series of health-related activities.
“There will also be some other training to deal with burn victims, serious traffic accident injuries, damaged limbs, and other emergency treatments,” he said.
He stated that a complete approach for training programs would be unveiled in the next week.
He said that CPR (a life-saving method useful in a variety of crises, such as a heart attack or near drowning, resulting in choking of someone’s breathing or heartbeat) has saved many lives around the world in locations where quick medical treatment was scarce.
CPR instruction, according to Mr. Sufi, would be included in the school curriculum.
PM Shehbaz Sharif said he had guaranteed meritocracy in the health sector, as well as the provision of high-quality education and the development of health facilities in Punjab.
In the event of an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA), cardiopulmonary resuscitation is a common rescue strategy.
According to international studies, bystanders who have been trained in CPR improve the rate of spontaneous circulation and survival.
The efficiency of CPR was demonstrated recently in a viral video of a couple from Multan, one of whom is a doctor, resuscitating a drowning youngster and saving his life.
The government is likely to enlist the help of civil society organizations, the media, and other important players to convert the program into a nationwide movement that might save millions of lives.
The premier, according to the SRU chairman, ensured meritocracy, world norms of medical education, and the building of hospitals across Punjab.
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