Cameroon Red Cross (CRC) plans to organize first-aid awareness training nationwide with the number of accidents increasing on Cameroonian roads. 

 “We noticed that local populations, who are [usually] the first persons to witness an accident and arrive at the scenes, don’t have the basic knowledge to provide first aid assistance to victims. That's why we thought it was important to launch this campaign to save lives,” explained CRC secretary-general Jean Urbain Zoa, on the State TV CRTV. 

Road accidents are frequent and deadly in Cameroon. According to the Ministry of Transport, an average of 1,400 people are killed on the roads yearly, and over 6,000 according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Emergency services are sometimes late to the scenes and local populations who usually do so are unaware of or unfamiliar with life-saving techniques. This national campaign should equip as many people as possible with first aid skills. 

For Jean Urbain Zoa, the training will boost the number of people with such skills along various roads and improve the population’s capacity to save lives. 

CRC is officially a volunteer rescue organization. It provides first aid and emergency services. It also carries out health, social, and global solidarity actions to prevent and alleviate the suffering of vulnerable persons. On March 31, 2020, it was recognized by presidential decree as being in the public interest for the third time since its creation on April 30, 1960.

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