BUJUMBURA, September 30th (ABP) – The Burundi Red Cross organized on Friday, September 27, 2024 in Bujumbura, a training for road users to teach them basic notions of first aid for road injuries, a check by ABP revealed.
In an interview with the press at the end of the training, Dr. Désiré Habonimana, first aid expert and coordinator of the prevention and relief unit at the Burundi Red Cross, said that after noting that there are many road accidents and that people have limits in terms of methods and ways of intervening to provide assistance, the Burundi Red Cross has developed a new manual specific to road users providing assistance. According to him, it is therefore one-day training and the modules of the course include topics such as stopping bleeding, stabilizing wounds and fractures, and many others. In addition, the Red Cross, after concluding a memorandum of understanding with the Minister of Transport, a training module has been developed to ensure that each driver has a first aid certificate so that they can provide assistance in the event of an accident.
Dr. Habonimana said that this training is considered effective because it is practical and it is a training course in which a large number of teaching materials have been used to ensure the similarity of the lesson. He did not fail to specify that this training is currently taking place in pilot provinces such as Bujumbura Mairie and Bujumbura and that it will then be extended to the entire country in order to set up teams of trainers who will train other road users.
Didas Ntihemuka, one of the beneficiaries of the training, is delighted to have benefited from that training of paramount importance. He recalls that in their work as drivers, accidents sometimes occur and that many drivers, when there is an accident, take off instead of helping the victims of the accident. This is why he praised the organization of the training and asked the Red Cross to train all drivers, which would reduce the number of people who die on the spot following an accident due to not having received first aid before arriving at the hospital.
It is worthy to note that this training is certified and lasts only one day.