Capacity-building of rescuers under way

Rescue 1122 hosts Programme for Enhancement of Emergency Response.

LAHORE: A training programme to enhance the quality and standard of emergency services in Pakistan is underway at the Emergency Services Academy. The programme is being carried out in collaboration with the National Disaster Management Authority and USAID.

Punjab Emergency Services aka Rescue 1122 Director-General Dr Rizwan Naseer visited the Emergency Services Academy on Sunday and monitored the ongoing activities at the 5th phase of the Programme for Enhancement of Emergency Response (PEER).



Under the umbrella of PEER, courses including medical first responder (MFR), collapsed structure search and rescue (CSSR) and trainings for instructors have been conducted at Punjab Emergency Services.

“Training is the backbone of rescue activities and operations are the face of the service,” he said while speaking at the academy. “We cannot compromise on the quality of training.”

PEER was launched in Pakistan in 2006 and courses began in 2007. Phase-2 of the programme was launched in 2007 and continued till 2009 while Phase-3 began in 2009 and continued till 2014. The 4th phase was started in 2015.

There have been 147 MFR and 114 CSSR graduates while 70 participants have been trained to become instructors. The programme has also been institutionalised and 202 participants from different provinces have also been trained.

DG Rizwan said Pakistan had had a number of disasters, including the earthquake of 2005 in Azad Kashmir, the 2008 earthquake in Balochistan, recurring flash floods, droughts, landslides, river erosion, urban and forest fires, industrial and transport accidents, civil conflicts and internal displacements of communities in recent years.

Because of this vulnerability to both natural and manmade disasters, he said there was a huge need for institutional arrangements to reduce losses from disasters.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 26^th, 2016.