International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Nigeria delegation says it trained 30 surgeons from 20 states in the country on management of weapon wounded patients.
The Head of ICRC Delegation in Nigeria, Mr Eloi Fillion, made this known in a statement by ICRC Public Relations Officer, Aliyu Dawobe, on Thursday in Abuja.
Dawobe quoted Fillion as saying “the training took place in Abuja between Nov. 12 and Nov. 14 in collaboration with Federal Ministry of Health.”
Fillion also said that the trained surgeons were the ones working in areas affected by armed conflict and violence.
He added that they were trained to enable them to provide lifesaving surgical care to weapon wounded patients in difficult environments with limited equipment and resources.
He explained that the surgeons were also trained on lifesaving techniques to manage injuries from explosions, abdominal and thoracic injuries, as well as fractures from other weapons.
Fillion noted that the training was of paramount importance, as many people in areas affected by conflict and violence hardly had access to basic health services.
He said “repeated attacks against healthcare personnel and facilities make the situation even more dramatic.”
He pointed out that international humanitarian law and the principles of medical ethics stated that all wounded people had the right to medical care “and the ICRC works to promote these principles.”
According to him, the ICRC in partnership with Federal Ministry of Health has been organising surgical seminars in Nigeria since 2012 and has so far trained over 400 surgeons, nurses and anaesthetists.
He said the ICRC surgical team in Maiduguri had in 2019 operated on 1,700.
In addition, he said, no fewer than 260,000 persons received healthcare services in 20 primary healthcare centres supported by the ICRC.
“Together with the Nigerian Red Cross, the organisation provided first aid training to over 1,500 people in 19 states of Nigeria.’’
News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the ICRC, established in 1863, works worldwide to ensure humanitarian protection and assistance for people affected by conflict and armed violence.
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ICRC has been working in Nigeria fr more than 30 years, operating in 20 states to alleviate the sufferings of people affected by conflicts and armed violence.