KPMG, one of the “Big Four” accounting firms, has partnered with the Health Emergency Initiative, HEI to empower senior secondary school students with life-saving skills, focusing on CPR, first aid, and other pre-hospital emergency techniques.
This collaboration reflects KPMG’s commitment to fostering youth empowerment and inclusive learning through impactful social initiatives.
The programme, which trained over 50 senior secondary school students from Queen’s College and other participating schools, is part of a broader goal to enhance emergency preparedness among young Nigerians.
The training is designed in a Train the Trainer, TOT model that ensures each of the students would train/cascade the skill to 50 of their schools mates within 90 days with additional support from HEI.
Through this partnership, KPMG and HEI aim to address the alarming statistics related to cardiovascular diseases, road traffic accidents, and other emergencies, which are major causes of preventable deaths in Nigeria.
Partner and CSR Lead at KPMG, Nike Yomi-Faseun, spoke at the programme launch and stressed the importance of equipping young people with CPR, first aid and other prehospital skills.
She highlighted the initiative as a vital investment in saving lives and encouraged other organisations and individuals to support similar programs. She also emphasised HEI’s strong reputation for transparency and effective project execution.
In his remarks, Executive Director of HEI, Paschal Achunine who is an Ashoka Fellow, expressed gratitude to KPMG for its support in advancing emergency preparedness in schools.
“This collaboration is a testament to KPMG’s dedication to making a lasting impact in our society. By training students as first responders, we are fostering a culture of life-saving interventions that will reduce fatalities from pre-hospital emergencies,” he said.
According to Achunine, under the programme, First Responders Clubs were established in participating schools, promoting sustainability and continuous learning. He said these clubs will engage in activities such as essay competitions, quizzes, and debates to further embed a life-saving culture among students.
”The partnership builds on HEI’s ongoing efforts, which has seen the organisation train over 126,000 first responders.
”Additionally, the Lagos State Government recently approved a five-year program for HEI to integrate first responder training into the secondary school curriculum, highlighting the alignment between HEI’s initiatives and government priorities. ”
About Health Emergency Initiative, HEI.
HEI is a leading NGO committed to improving health outcomes in Nigeria through emergency medical support, first responder training, and post-crash care.
With a mission to ensure no life is lost due to lack of timely medical intervention, HEI has become a trusted partner to government agencies, organisations, schools, and communities nationwide.