Kenya to Build First Aid Posts and Trauma Centres on Highways
Traffic police officers will also be given the same training to help them provide immediate support in the event of accidents.
The strategy will involve the opening up of access to road reserves in the blackspot locations by KeNHA for the development of the aforementioned facilities. Photo/ Courtesy
By Juliet Jerotich
The Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) and St. John’s Ambulance have disclosed plans to establish 19 first aid posts and four trauma centers on major highways in Kenya. The step aims to boost road safety and emergency response for victims of accidents.
The action followed a joint consultative meeting between the two institutions, wherein both emphasized the need to strengthen post-crash care. Experts have noted that the initial 60 minutes after a crash — commonly referred to as the “golden hour” — is often the deciding factor whether a victim lives or perishes. Having medical attention within this period is therefore the project’s main theme.
The strategy will involve the opening up of access to road reserves in the blackspot locations by KeNHA for the development of the aforementioned facilities. The first aid stations and the trauma centers will be strategically located to allow for quick deployment of medical support and stabilization of injured persons prior to evacuation to hospitals.
Besides the new infrastructure, the initiative also seeks to build capacity for emergency response at the level of communities. Boda boda cyclists, who are usually the first to arrive at scenes of accidents, will be given first aid training. Traffic police officers will also be given the same training to help them provide immediate support in the event of accidents.
St. John’s Ambulance opened that Nairobi boasts more than 300 boda boda first responders working in congested and accident hotspots such as Mukuru kwa Reuben, Pipeline in Embakasi, and Kibera. Scaling this to roads is expected to be an excellent step to reduce the number of deaths.
As part of their agreement, the two institutions will have a formal memorandum of understanding they will draft that will serve as the foundation for their long-term alliance. This will render the alliance sustainable and have operating guidelines in place.
Delayed response from medical help, St. John’s Ambulance states, is one of the biggest contributors to the high death toll on Kenya’s roads. The World Health Organization (WHO) has further reported that thousands of Kenyans die every year from road accidents, many of which could have been prevented with timely intervention.
Talking in a statement published on X (formerly Twitter), St. John’s emphasized the importance of the new program, describing how it would reduce response times, bring emergency care to the scene of the accident, and save more lives in the long term.
The action has been regarded as a dramatic and overdue action in combating the country’s road safety disaster. To the majority of Kenyans, the action represents new hope that roads will once again never be zones of death, but safe roads with lifesaving help within reach whenever calamity befalls.
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