Boat Mishap: Mrs Soludo to intensify training on basic life-saving skills

Healthy Living with Nonye Soludo Initiative, a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), says it will intensify training on basic life-saving skills to help residents respond appropriately to emergency situations.

Dr Nonye Soludo, Wife of the Anambra State Governor and Founder of the initiative, said this on Monday while reacting to the death of Nollywood actor, John Paul Odonwodo, popularly known as ‘Junior Pope’, who was involved in a boat mishap while on a movie trip on April 10.

Soludo said that such training had become necessary to save lives and prevent avoidable deaths.

She described Junior Pope’s death as avoidable.

“It is unfortunate that lives have been lost in so many avoidable circumstances where common life-saving skills like cardiopulmonary resuscitation, mouth-to-mouth resuscitation or relief of foreign bodies obstructing the airways were required.

“This is why Healthy Living with Nonye Soludo Initiative will intensify programmes and training on basic life-saving skills to equip people and help them respond appropriately to household emergencies.

“In collaboration with the Red Cross Society, we have been training students in schools where Healthy Living Clubs are currently operating, as well as Ward councilors and youths in different communities in the state.

“But currently, we are mopping up plans to expand the training to reach more people across all the communities in Anambra,” she said.

Soludo said that spreading out the training would equip more people with practical knowledge of basic life-saving protocols.

According to her, more people will be equipped on what to do when someone is involved in common accidents like drowning, electrocution, concussion, fainting, choking and other emergencies.

She said that basic life-saving skills and support was one of the major pillars of her Healthy Living initiative.

“We recognise that it is important that everyone gets the elementary knowledge of how to respond during certain emergencies and we want to champion the training,” she said.