Mogadishu, 13 September 2018 – Medical officers serving under the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) have completed a two-day course to equip them with life-saving skills in the battlefield.
The workshop, jointly organized by the United Nations Support Mission in Somalia (UNSOS) and AMISOM, was attended by 32 officers among them nurses, clinical officers and pharmacists.
The participants, comprising military and police officers, will coordinate similar trainings in the sectors to ensure more officers acquire life-saving skills.
AMISOM Force Commander, Lt. Gen. Jim Beesigye Owoyesigire, who opened the workshop on Monday, challenged the participants to orientate themselves with all types of casualties they are likely to encounter during the service in the Mission.
“This workshop provides you with an opportunity to get proper orientation of all types of casualties that you’re going to be dealing with during your tour of duty,” Lt. Gen. Owoyesigire said.
The Force Commander asked the newly deployed officers to use the workshop to add value to their knowledge and skills to enable them implement the medical support plan for this Mission.
“Take note of the lessons learnt especially the gaps and work towards producing a seamless medical support plan for the Mission as we prepare for the draw-down of the AMISOM troops,” Lt. Gen. Owoyesigire added.
The participants are also expected to train their Somali counterparts to develop their capacity of handling life threatening injuries that occur in the battlefield.
While closing the workshop, the acting Head of Mission Support, Mathias Ngarambe, said he was convinced the participants were ready to execute their duties in the Mission after the training.
The AMISOM Force Medical Officer, Lt. Col. Boniface Mandishona, said the purpose of the workshop was to familiarize all the new medical staff within the Mission area with the processes and procedures undertaken in caring for injured personnel.
“Most of these new staff have not been exposed to IED injuries. This mission is unique and because of that, we’ve come up with a package which is both theoretical and practical to try to acquaint them with the different processes and procedures that we do as we look after our soldiers,” added Lt. Col. Mandishona.
Speaking after the workshop, two participants shared the skills and knowledge they had gained from the workshop, including patient management in the first 10 minutes of an attack while in the battlefield.
Staff Sergeant Ali Dekow from Dhobley, sector two, and Lt. Mary Sylvia Lamunu who heads AMISOM Level 2 Hospital in sector one, thanked the organizers of the training, adding that they were ready to effectively undertake life-saving tasks.
The UK70 training coordinator for the workshop, Sergeant Kyle Williams, said they had focused on the training of trainers who would replicate what they had learned in the sectors.
The three-day workshop involved training in battlefield first-aid, pre-evacuation drill, medical logistics and prevention of diseases in the sectors among other skills.
Amisom
