The Turkish Red Crescent (Kızılay), which has been awarded the “Global First Aid Accreditation” certificate by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), provided first aid training to 69,000 people in the first eight months of this year.
Kızılay organizes first aid courses at 29 First Aid Training Centers in 22 cities across Türkiye, operating under the Global First Aid Reference Centre of the IFRC.
Its 16-hour first aid training programs meet international standards, which have been certified by the IFRC, and last year Kızılay received the “Global First Aid Accreditation” certificate. Kızılay continues its efforts to reach even more people.
Within the framework of this year’s theme set by the Global First Aid Centre for World First Aid Day, “First Aid and Climate Change” Kızılay educates participants not only on first aid but also on the impacts of climate change.
Ali Seyhan, Head of the Kızılay Adana Branch First Aid Training Center, said that World First Aid Day is celebrated every year on the second Saturday of September.
Seyhan explained that the Global First Aid Centre applies a different theme each year to emphasize the importance of accessible first aid knowledge, and that this year’s theme is “First Aid and Climate Change.”
He highlighted that Kızılay First Aid Training Centers provide education under this framework, saying, “The aim of this year’s theme is to raise awareness about the human health and environmental impacts caused by climate change. Increasing extreme heat, floods, storms, and fires affect all age groups differently, making first aid knowledge vital for everyone.”
Seyhan also noted the high participation in the trainings, “With the first aid courses conducted across Türkiye in the first eight months of this year, we reached 69,000 people. A total of 539,000 people attended the first aid seminars held this year. Additionally, in the context of combating forest fires, first aid information sessions were conducted for Regional Forest Directorates in 81 provinces."
"An educational video was also prepared to emphasize the life-saving effect of proper intervention for volunteers involved in forest fires, as well as for teachers and students in schools for emergencies that may occur in the new academic year,” he added.
Gökçe Güneş, a mother of two who attended the training, said she decided to take the course after seeing news about providing first aid to people in distress.
Highlighting that anyone may need first aid in daily life, Güneş said, “My father has a heart condition. For example, I did not know how to perform CPR, but I learned it through this training. We learned how to intervene in bleeding cases. I gained knowledge about how to handle accidents at home. I will encourage all my friends to attend the training. Everyone must take first aid training.”
Interior architect Fatma Gezen also shared that she learned many things about first aid through the training.
Thanks to the courses, she said she can now respond to incidents she encounters. “Often we act very carelessly or do nothing at all in emergencies. After receiving first aid training, I wanted to intervene directly when I encountered incidents. Accidents frequently occur at home. For example, I once had a burn on my body. This training helped me realize how carelessly we act. I learned how the things we thought were correct were actually wrong and how to perform them properly,” she said.
