Ms Josephine Ama Daisie, Western Regional Manager of the Ghana Red Cross Society on Tuesday said the society had trained over 1600 drivers and their assistants on the proper handling of road accident victims.

She said wrongful handling of accident and emergency victims had over the years contributed to the many avoidable deaths in the country.

Ms Daisie said the training of the drivers and their assistants, who are the first contact with victims, was necessary to give them the requisite knowledge to minimize such avoidable deaths.

She told the media at Sekondi that the activities formed part of the celebrations marking this year’s World Red Cross day.

She said the care of infants and children were paramount, especially if it had to do with first aid, hence the initiative to train teachers who care for these children.

The theme for the celebration: “Youth on the Move” was chosen to highlight the important role the youth play in Red Cross activities as well as equipping them to scale up their activities, especially on disaster management and health care.

Ms Daisie said the youth formed over 60 per cent of the society’s membership and therefore training and re-orientation were the surest ways to sustain the society and also increase membership.

Dr Roland Sowah, Regional Chairman of GRCS said, the society plays an important role during disasters and its management and urged more people to join the Red Cross.

He said it was imperative for every individual to learn the basics of first aid administration in order to give proper emergency care.

Mr Edward Acquah-Harrison, Youth Representative, urged the youths to refrain from any political activity that had the tendency to disrupt the peace of the country.

The society has nine operational districts in the region and undertakes programmes such as disaster preparedness, disaster response, health services and care in communities, organisational development, communication and public relations among others.**