KARACHI: Experts at a session held as part of a symposium, which concluded at the Aga Khan University (AKU) on Sunday, underscored the need for introducing a compulsory emergency preparedness programme at the school level in the country.

Titled 21st National Health Sciences Research Symposium, Emergency Care: Time and Life Matter, the event brought together a large number of national and international specialists in emergency and acute care medicine, disaster medicine, emergency medical services as well as professionals from other disciplines that interface with emergency care.

Discussing emergency preparedness at the school level, experts pointed out that while schools had been exposed to numerous emergency situations from earthquakes and floods to terrorist attacks, they still lacked a comprehensive programme that should prepare young students for critical situations.

“We know that the National Disaster Management Authority has been holding periodic training programmes for school safety but the question is are our schools prepared for an emergency today?” asked Azra Naseem, a faculty member of AKU’s Institute for Educational Development and the session’s moderator.

Her concern was shared by other speakers who talked about how an efficient emergency preparedness programmes could be developed at the school level.

“We equip our children with skills to prepare them for the real world. What we don’t do is to equip them to handle emergencies,” said Norbert Almeida, a renowned safety and security expert and one of the panellists.

The cardiopulmonary resuscitation technique for medical emergencies and safety protocol of ‘run, hide, tell’ in case of a terror attack were measures that could easily be taught. Girl guide and boy scout platforms, corporate social responsibility initiatives, civil defence programmes were some of the quickest and surest ways to do it, he added.

Amima Sayeed from the Habib University was of the view that preparedness for emergency or disaster situation couldn’t be seen as a standalone target. “Schools will have to start seeing life-long learning as their central goal for children. By doing so, they focus on developing skills set that will enable children to respond to difficult, challenging situations, and have the resilience and creativity to function and thrive whatever may be the circumstances,” she said.

School principals, teachers, parents, school administrators and members of civil society also participated in the discussion.

In another plenary session, Dr Naseeruddin Mahmood, founding trustee of ChildLife Foundation, trustee of SINA Health Trust and co-founder of Clinic-5, briefed the audience about his organisation and said that its mission was to provide every child with quality and affordable healthcare facilities as part of public-private partnership in Sindh.

Dr Asad Mian, head of the organising committee and the chair of AKU’s department of emergency medicine, shared the symposium recommendations that focused on the need to implement effective emergency care at the local and national levels.

AKU president Firoz Rasul and vice president (academic) Carl Amrhein also spoke.

Published in Dawn, November 12th, 2018