First-aid kits for schools

Very few doctors attend to communities in remote rural areas of Bolivia. There is no ambulance service and the closest health centre is far away and often can only be reached after walking many kilometres. This is why schools need a first-aid kit and first-aid training. Such equipment and knowledge can limit a worsening of the patient’s condition and further harm can be prevented.

Timeframe

2021-2023

Pillar

Health

Project Community

5,114 school children in 103 rural communities with 12,273 inhabitants in the remote regions of the department of La Paz

Project area

Project Goal

Students and teachers receive and learn how to use first-aid kits to guarantee a quick response to unexpected health emergencies.

Project details

This project is part of our  integral Programme Healthy Municipality and is implemented in both Bolivia and Peru.

Accidents can always happen

Minor injuries and wounds are a part of everyday life but if they are not properly disinfected there is a risk of infection, which could lead to sepsis. Unfortunately, in rural communities, people do not know how to do first-aid and they do not have the antiseptics, gauzes, antibiotic creams, scissors, etc. that they need. By providing first-aid kits and training, minor or serious illness or injury can be dealt with quickly in the community and the decision made whether to move the person to the closest health centre for further treatment.

First-Aid Trainings

Teachers rarely know what to do in the event of an accident and so when the first-aid kits are delivered, the Suyana medical team (doctor and nurse) hold a first-aid training session on life-saving measures in case of accidents, how to treat wounds and the proper use of over-the counter medicine. They focus on how to deal with the most frequent problems, such as open sores, broken bones, eye injuries, concussions, burns, and the accidental swallowing of objects. Teachers, secondary-school students and interested members of the community can attend the training session and receive a simple first-aid manual.

First-Aid-Kit

Each community is responsible for restocking their first-aid kit. We invite the communities to draft proposals on ways to finance purchasing essential medical supplies. One way could be for the community to designate a portion of the sales of agricultural produce grown by the village community to a fund.

The first-aid-kit contains, amongst other items, disinfectants, gauze and over-the-counter medicines for allergies, diarrhoea, nausea, vomiting, fever, pain and inflammation.

Together we make it happen

Since 2008, over 4,656 secondary school children and teachers have been trained in first-aid and 361 first-aid kits have been distributed to the schools.

90 first-aid kits are needed for the new intervention areas.
Each first-aid kit costs CHF 56.

Thanks to your donation accidents and illnesses in remote regions can be treated immediately and appropriately. In serious cases, the right response is made and help is requested in time from the nearest health facility.

Together we make it happen

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