Posted by The Gambia public faces numerous challenges when it comes to safety on the highways, one of which includes the absence of the required capacity for proper and timely response to assist victims of road accidents.
In a bid to address this crucial capacity gap, on Saturday, 6th November, 2021, the Ministry of Transport, Works and Infrastructure, organised a three-day training at Metzy Hotel in Kololi, on First Aid and Trauma Care, for members of the Road Safety Working Group, which include the National Roads Authority (NRA), the Association of Non-Governmental Organization (TANGO), the Kanifing Municipal Council, Transport Union, Gambia Bureau of Statistics, Physical Planning, Department of Community Development, and The Gambia Armed Forces.
During the three-day workshop, trainers from the Gambia Red Cross Society trained participants on basic first aid and accident trauma care relevant at crash sites. They showed the participants how to assist choked victims, how to stop bleeding, including internal bleeding, and how to conduct many other life saving methods.
Mr. Essa Drammeh, the Director of Transport of the Ministry, in a brief opening statement, said the reasons for the training were to expose members of the working Group to basic methods of first aid, and how to administer them in case of crisis.
He said the training was meant to build the capacity and knowledge of members of the Road Safety Working Group, urging them to take the training seriously and to share the knowledge from the training with their colleagues at work.
“This is only one of a series of training on Road Safety for members of the Group, the rest are coming up in the future,” he said.
Lamin Bojang, the lead trainer from The Gambia Red Cross Society, described the training as timely, considering the growing number of road traffic accidents occurring on the highways.
He also appealed to the participants to make best use of the knowledge and skills acquired from the three days training.
By: Lamin Njie
Assistant Information Officer
Ministry of Transport, Works and Infrastructure