In Pakistan—where recurring emergencies such as seasonal flooding can strain and even overwhelm health systems—preparedness can save lives. To address this, International Medical Corps’ Emergency Response Unit (ERU) and Pakistan country team recently led a series of training sessions for rescue teams and frontline workers.
The teams conducted Basic Emergency Care (BEC) and Stop The Bleed® (STB) sessions in Islamabad, the country’s capital, and Lahore, the capital of Punjab province. BEC helps first-contact health workers assess and care for patients with acute illness or injury, including in humanitarian settings. STB, developed by the American College of Surgeons, teaches people how to control severe bleeding in emergencies.
“Our training courses help equip first responders with practical, lifesaving skills they can use immediately—in health facilities, during emergencies and in their own communities,” says Dr. Trufosa Mochache, an emergency-medicine doctor and ERU team member who co-led the training. “We are proud to support efforts to build local capacity for both day-to-day situations and the next emergency.”
“In Pakistan, communities regularly face flooding and other crises that can quickly overwhelm local health facilities,” says Bakhtiar Ahmed, International Medical Corps’ Country Director in Pakistan. “This training helps strengthen first responders’ capacity to provide timely, effective care when it matters most.”
The sessions marked the first time that International Medical Corps delivered BEC and STB training in Pakistan. Designed for emergency medical technicians, doctors, nurses, other frontline health workers and community members, the courses help participants recognize and respond to life-threatening conditions—including shock, breathing difficulties and hemorrhage—during the critical early stages of an emergency, when early action can save lives.
The courses combine classroom instruction with hands-on skills stations, small-group discussions and realistic emergency scenarios. In the BEC course, participants practice the “ABCDE approach”—a step-by-step method that helps healthcare providers quickly identify and treat the most serious threats to a patient’s life. The process starts with the caregiver checking the airway, breathing and circulation, conducting a neurological assessment to determine disability, then checking for other injuries or conditions caused by exposure.
“The training is designed to build skills that participants can use right away and share with others,” says Dr. Esther Nyambura Nduati, an emergency-medicine doctor and ERU team member who co-led the training. “By strengthening emergency-care knowledge among frontline responders, we are helping to expand the number of people who can act quickly and effectively during an emergency.”
By the end of the BEC training, 88 trainees were certified as BEC providers. Ten participants also completed instructor training and became registered trainers after teaching later groups under observation, helping to extend emergency-care knowledge beyond the initial sessions.
This was the first time that the ERU delivered the BEC course in a hybrid format, enabling the first cohort to complete both the standard provider course and instructor course in five days. As with most International Medical Corps training courses, the goal was to train one group of health workers while developing the capability of local instructors to continue teaching others. After becoming registered trainers, the new BEC instructors went on to independently facilitate another five-day course—further strengthening the capacity of the local health system.
The initiative was organized in collaboration with the World Health Organization, Capital Emergency Services in Islamabad, Rescue 1122 Emergency Services Academy in Lahore and the International Federation for Emergency Medicine, and was supported by FedEx and Merck.
By providing this training in Pakistan, International Medical Corps is helping first responders build practical skills they can use in emergencies and share with others—a core part of our mission. Learn more about our pioneering training programs and our ongoing work in Pakistan.