For several years now, the URGO Foundation has been actively involved in facilitating access to first aid in regions where the need is greatest. With the First-Aid Next Door program, the Foundation has already trained hundreds of pharmacists in Vietnam, helping to save lives through rapid and effective emergency response.
On October 28, 2024, the Urgo Foundation, in collaboration with the Ho Chi Minh City Red Cross, Pharmacity and Grab, held a press conference to announce the launch of the “Timely First Aid – Safe Traffic” program. A new milestone has been reached thanks to an unprecedented partnership with Grab, a service platform in Southeast Asia offering motorcycle cab solutions in particular (equivalent to Uber), which is very popular. This ambitious project is part of Vietnam’s “Road Safety Month”, and aims to reduce the number of accidents on the roads, while raising awareness of the importance of first aid.
Program objectives :
- First aid training for Grab drivers: 40 drivers from the 24-7 rescue team have already been trained. This rescue team is called out and is responsible for providing assistance if there is an accident or problem on the road. Thanks to this initiative, these drivers, present throughout the city, will be able to intervene rapidly in the event of an accident.
- Distribution of first-aid kits: 1,000 kits were distributed to drivers, along with first-aid training videos on the GrabAcademy platform, giving thousands of potential drivers the skills they need to deal effectively with emergency situations.
- Ongoing training for pharmacists: We have also trained 300 Pharmacity pharmacists in first aid to enhance their ability to respond to emergencies within pharmacies. This complements the 900 pharmacists already trained in 2022 and 2023, bringing the total to around 1 trained pharmacist per outlet.
At the press conference, representatives from the Urgo Foundation, the Ho Chi Minh City Red Cross First Aid Training Center and Pharmacity took the floor to underline the importance of this project and the benefits it will bring in terms of road safety. 11 articles have already been published on the subject.
Thanks to this initiative, the Urgo Foundation, the Red Cross, Pharmacity and Grab are making a commitment to everyone’s safety by helping to reduce the number of accident victims thanks to a rapid and effective response to emergencies on the roads. In 2025, the project will continue to expand, reaching even more Grab drivers and enhancing safety on Vietnamese roads.
