First Aid Next Door is the name of a program designed to make first aid available in pharmacies in Vietnam!
In Vietnam, 3,600 cases of injury are recorded every day (falls, road accidents, drowning…). However, accident prevention and knowledge of first-aid techniques are poorly understood by the population. Better knowledge and access to care could, in the most serious cases, save lives while waiting for the emergency services.
The URGO Foundation, the Vietnamese Red Cross and Pharmacity* have joined forces in the belief that prevention and immediate treatment of injuries are essential to ensure the well-being of populations.
The First Aid Next Door program was born of their shared determination. This program aims at facilitating access to first aid for the Vietnamese population by broadening the pharmacist’s mission.
In 2022, a first wave of 300 pharmacists in the Pharmacity network was trained by the Red Cross. The following year, the program built on this success by training a further 300 pharmacists.
This increase means that one in two Pharmacity pharmacies now has a professional trained in first aid, significantly boosting the emergency response capacity in the city.
In addition to managing and financing this initiative, the URGO Foundation equips all trained pharmacists with a professional first-aid backpack, so that they can deal with emergencies in the best possible conditions.
This certification course, accredited by the Vietnamese Ministry of Health, enables pharmacists to provide basic care for minor injuries, reducing the need to consult a doctor or go to hospital.
*Pharmacity is the second largest pharmacy chain in Vietnam, with over 1,00 pharmacies and nearly 6,000 pharmacists.
