The Students
Worried about rising cases of sudden deaths, The Embassy of Health and Wellness, a life-saving initiative, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Missions at the weekend stormed Idemili North Local Government Area of Anambra State to empower selected students from the area with the knowledge and needed skills to save lives.
The programme executed at Nkwelle Uke was part of the activities to mark the burial of Deaconess Elizabeth Ekemma Ilonzo whose son, Mr Ambrose is also of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The deceased was said to have slumped and died.
Dr Chiemelie Eze (middle) flanked by some of the community members
While addressing students and other participants at the event, Chief Mission Director, The Embassy of Health and Wellness, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Missions, Dr Chiemelie Eze said students were selected from Uke, Ideani, Ojoto, Umuoji, Alor, Abatete and Nobi for the pilot programme.
Dr Chiemelie Eze
He disclosed that the initiative was aimed at preventing sudden deaths by educating the public on emergency responses including basic first aid, Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and healthcare procedures.
He explained that the empowered students would extend the knowledge and skills acquired at the programme to various communities they came from. He said that would pave the way for a broader impact across Idemili and Anambra State, generally.
“In recent months, our community has witnessed an alarming rise in sudden deaths, where individuals collapse without warning and lose their lives before help can reach them.
“In the last few days over one hundred persons have either been reported to have slumped and died or in some of the instances the person slumped and was lucky to be saved. Whatever that could have meant, we are disturbed about this menace.
“So, today we decided that on this course of this matriarch’s burial, we shall use this opportunity to educate people of these communities in Idemili.
“These tragic events have left families and communities in grief, and the loss of our beloved matriarchs, like the late mother of our esteemed friend, has underscored the urgent need for action.
“Recognizing the growing menace, we, The Embassy of Health and Wellness, are committed to bridging the gap in emergency healthcare responses within our community, “he submitted.
Dr Eze further noted that by empowering individuals with those critical skills, the initiative hoped to create a network of trained responders who could act decisively in the crucial moments following a medical emergency.
He explained that the Embassy had chosen a group of dedicated students from those towns who would undergo intensive training by well qualified resource persons in the field of healthcare and wellness for onward dissemination of the knowledge to their peers, families, and neighbours, to ensure that the training reached every corner of the country.
The training comprised workshops and practical sessions, pamphlets and educational materials as well as healthcare nuggets.
He named some of the emergency scenarios to include cardiac arrest, choking, severe bleeding, among others as the cases where the training would be applied.
The President General of Uke Development Union, Chief Peter Onyejegbu who attended the programme with members of his executive lauded the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the organizers for what he described as life-saving event taking place in his domain. He said the locals would maximize the opportunity for their own interest.
Some of the students, Master Ezeudu Kosiso of Community Secondary School, Nnobi and Miss Asobi Chinonso of Girls Secondary School, Ojoto said in unison that the talks presented by the resource persons were expository to them and would enable them to handle emergency medical situations and transfer the same skills and knowledge to their peers and family members.
Mrs Okoli Josephine of Community Secondary School, Umuoji and Mrs Nzekwe Nkiruka, Girls Secondary School, Ojoto who were among the teachers that brought the students to the programme expressed appreciation to the organizers and described the event as apt, at a time when many had fallen victims of sudden deaths.
The event witnessed scholarship award to all the students who participated in the programme after subjecting them to an examination.
