Ukrainians Can Access WiRED’s Health and First Aid Training

By Allison Kozicharow; Edited by Elizabeth Fine

On February 24, 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine. In response WiRED International considered how best we could assist Ukrainians, and in August 2023 we released our well-tested community health worker training course used in other countries. We augmented that curriculum with a 40-hour block on First Aid Critical Care (FACC), adapted from the U.S. military’s first aid field manual. The original curriculum and the new FACC  were translated into the Ukrainian language.

No stranger to providing health information in combat zones throughout our 26-year history, WiRED realized the difficulty in addressing health needs in a war that has not only affected civilians but has targeted them.

WiRED’s aim is to get this complete health worker training program into the hands of as many Ukrainian people as possible, outfitting them with the knowledge they can use for everyday health care and to face the brutal assaults on their families, homes and towns.

While the relevance of first aid training needs no explanation in a place where civilians suffer daily assaults, the need to address diseases may be less obvious. That portion of the curriculum is offered in light of the World Health Organization’s reported spike in infectious diseases and non-communicable diseases in Ukraine due to war-imposed crowding conditions, lack of routine medical care, poor diets and restricted opportunity for exercise.

WiRED’s training program for Ukraine consists of several parts. They include:

• Core Health Block: This block provides modules on anatomy and physiology, infectious diseases, non-communicable diseases, health promotion and mental health issues.
• Clinical Issues Block (Diagnostics and Key Treatments): This block looks at vital signs, medication management, patient assessment and vision screening.
• Communication Block: This block covers teaching communities about healthy practices and health surveillance, enabling community health workers (CHWs) to monitor communities for early signs of emerging health issues.
• First Aid Critical Care Block: This block offers instruction on first aid and critical care. It includes patient assessment, stop the bleed, shock, CPR, burns, fractures and more, written specifically for people without medical backgrounds. 

The training modules are available for online study and for downloading to smart devices, enabling Ukrainian citizens to learn from the modules even when they face limited internet connectivity.

Winter is now here in Ukraine bringing freezing temperatures and increased threat of disease due to overcrowding, inadequate health care, lack of food and medicine and constant Russian bombardment causing injury and death.

WiRED urges Ukrainians to access our materials and share them with others. Knowledge of first aid and diseases can contribute to the health needs of communities, especially during war.