The International Committee for Red Cross, ICRC, has expressed worry over increasing violence against health workers and volunteers in conflict theatres in parts of the country.
The First Aid and Pre-hospital Care Field Officer of ICRC, Omoruyi Daniel Edobor, said that health workers are often helpless during conflicts.
He addressed a group of journalists during a three-day workshop on various methods of first aid treatment and drill training in Calabar.
Edobor said many health workers have been maimed and killed during conflicts in the northeast and other beleaguered parts of the country.
“We have lost increasing numbers of healthcare workers, Red Cross volunteers and other welfare workers in conflict theatres in Nigeria.
“Many of them are deliberately attacked by armed opposition groups. These workers are harassed, and some are abducted during efforts to resuscitate or help survivors.
“We’ve lost many in the northeast of Nigeria. There ought to be safe passages of volunteers and healthcare personnel during such conflicts as provided for in many international conventions,” he said.
During the training, ICRC charged media practitioners to keep themselves abreast of appropriate international best practices for first aid treatment.
Participants were exposed to skills in various methods of first aid treatments and evacuating injured victims from accident scenes to secure and safe environments before their being moved to the nearest facility for proper medical attention.
Edobor urged media practitioners to always respond appropriately, bearing in mind that first aid treatment is purely emergency pre-hospital medical care provided for accident victims.
