World First Aid Day in Cambodia
Every year on the second Saturday of September, events are held in over 100 countries to celebrate and promote World First Aid Day. This year the day was held around the theme ‘First Aid and Road Safety’. As part of global actions, the Cambodian Red Cross (CRC) in collaboration with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), the GRSP, national societies and local government authorities organized a series of trainings and events, and advocated widely for first aid and road safety knowledge to be available to everyone, at all stages of life.
Before the event, a two-day training session on first aid and road safety was organized in Phnom Penh municipality. More than 50 participants were trained representing Cambodian Red Cross, the traffic police and the ambulance service. Madam Men Neary Sopheak, CRC Deputy Secretariat General, spoke of the movement and mission of Cambodian Red Cross (CRC) and the important role it plays in providing first aid. Similar training sessions were also conducted in three other high risk provinces of Kampong Speu, Kampong Thom and Battambang.
The main event, on September 14, took place at Chenla Theatre, Phnom Penh Cultural Centre, and was presided over by HE Pa Socheatvong, Governor of Phnom Penh Municipality. Over 400 government officials, teachers, students, volunteers, traffic police and civil society representatives participated in this important event. Five role plays on first aid were demonstrated by trained volunteers and a documentary on first aid was filmed, to be made accessible via social media platforms to help spread the message that with a little knowledge of first aid, each and every one of us can play a role in saving lives, not just medical professionals.
The event and associated activities were made possible with the support of the Global Road Safety Initiative, one of the world’s largest private sector road safety collaborations funded by Michelin, Renault, Shell, Total and Toyota.
