To deliver life-saving care to mothers and children evacuated from Gaza, Egyptian first responders receive training from Save the Children with support from Community Jameel
Overview
Egyptian paramedics and first responders are receiving specialist training from Save the Children, supported by Community Jameel, to help them deliver life-saving care to pregnant mothers, newborn babies and wounded children evacuated from Gaza. The training is rapidly scaling up preparedness, including in safeguarding for children and adults, and psychological first aid and self-care.
The paramedics from the Ministry of Health and the Egyptian Ambulance Authority enrolled in the programme are facing a humanitarian emergency in Gaza, where patients have suffered deprivation, trauma and catastrophic injuries.
Transcript
Ahmed Hassan, psychologist, Save the Children Egypt country office:
We are providing training for paramedics from the Egyptian Ambulance Authority, which aims to be the first line of response at the Rafah border crossing.
The training aims to enhance the capabilities of paramedics to interact with children and families evacuated from Gaza in a positive way, and, at the same time, to guide them in the best practices for servicing and assisting these individuals.
The training also provides a framework for sustainable response, so that paramedics can continue providing care long-term, without experiencing psychological burnout due to heavy workloads or work pressure.
Adel Farouk, paramedic, Egyptian Ambulance Authority:
One of the things we can take from today to benefit our work is the importance of maintaining boundaries in the cases we deal with.
This means dealing with people within certain parameters to avoid any behaviour that could add to their psychological distress.
Laila Tome, mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) technical advisor, Save the Children Egypt country office:
One of the aspects we focus on heavily at Save the Children, in our day-to-day work and in crisis situations in particular, is to ensure that the beneficiaries of our programmes and those affect by major crises receive high-quality services, while preserving their dignity and humanity as they benefit from our varied assistance.
