From: Rose Ejembi, Makurdi
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has commenced the training of 20 health workers from Benue State in emergency response.
According to ICRC Health Coordinator, Dr. Gabriel Mufuta Kakolongo, the three-day workshop by ICRC in collaboration with the Benue Hospital Management Board, is to train the health professionals in in the treatment of trauma patients.
He said the training became necessary in Benue State as a result of the increasing use of sophisticated weaponry in communal clashes, stressing that the training would equip health workers with the requisite knowledge to rapidly and efficiently respond to injured victims of such clashes.
“The increasing use of powerful modern weapons in communal clashes calls for disseminating the knowledge of rapid and efficient ways to treat the weapon-wounded and save lives.
“Providing health care workers with adequate skills to treat weapon injuries is crucial in order to give the injured a better chance for survival,” Dr. Kakolongo said.
Kakolongo added that selected medical staff would, within the three days, be trained in standardised surgical procedures for trauma patients admitted in hospital emergency rooms.
He disclosed further that two experienced surgeons, Dr. Onyedika Okoye Godfrey and Dr. Lama Dipta, have been invited by the ICRC for the occasion from Nigeria and Nepal respectively to train almost 10 specialist doctors and an equal number of emergency room professionals from the Benue Hospital Management Board.