NaijAidUK and HealthAid Charity are expanding first-aid training, professional development and medical equipment donations across Nigeria to strengthen emergency preparedness and save lives, writes Funmi Ogundare When an emergency strikes, the
NaijAidUK and HealthAid Charity are expanding first-aid training, professional development and medical equipment donations across Nigeria to strengthen emergency preparedness and save lives, writes **Funmi Ogundare **
When an emergency strikes, the difference between life and death may not always be the presence of a doctor or an ambulance. Sometimes, it is simply whether someone nearby knows what to do.
For NaijAidUK and HealthAid Charity, that simple reality has become the driving force behind a growing campaign to make first aid and emergency preparedness part of everyday life in Nigeria.
Since its establishment in 2015, the UK-registered charity, which operates in Nigeria as HealthAid Charity, has trained more than 3,000 healthcare professionals and 5,000 non-medical citizens in first aid and emergency response. Its work has also extended to the donation of medical equipment and the professional development of healthcare workers.
At a recent intermediate life support training for more than 70 healthcare practitioners from Lagos and Ogun states, and a first aid train-the-trainer programme involving more than 100 university students and first responders, that philosophy was on full display.
For Dr. Lanre Nehan-Babalola, Chief Executive Officer/Founding Trustee of NaijAidUK and HealthAid Charity, the most sustainable way to build emergency preparedness is to train people who can teach others.
“One of our most impactful programmes is the train-the-trainer model,” she explained. “Students and community members receive first aid training and return to teach others.”
The model, she stated, creates a multiplier effect, allowing knowledge to travel from one trained individual to families, schools, communities and workplaces.
That multiplier effect has also been demonstrated through the charity’s partnership with Project Alert. In May 2025, NaijAidUK and HealthAid Nigeria fully funded first aid training for 70 students at Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (ATBU), Bauchi.
The training was delivered by Project Alert’s winning team from a Train-the-Trainer first aid competition held in Lagos the previous October. The students received both classroom instruction and hands-on practical training in essential life-support techniques, alongside complimentary first aid kits to support continued preparedness.
The initiative reflected NaijAidUK’s broader commitment to empowering young people with the knowledge and confidence to become first responders within their communities.
In 2015, Nehan-Babalola was caring for her father at General Hospital, Gbagada, Lagos, when she encountered the realities of Nigeria’s healthcare challenges.
She saw committed doctors and nurses working under difficult conditions, but their ability to deliver care was constrained by inadequate equipment.
“I saw how dedicated Nigerian doctors and nurses were, but their impact was limited by a lack of equipment. That experience motivated me to act,” she recalled.
With her medical and training background in the United Kingdom, she began sourcing functional medical equipment from UK hospitals and arranging for them to be donated to healthcare facilities in Nigeria.
What started as a response to one family’s experience gradually developed into a wider humanitarian intervention.
As part of its commitment to strengthening emergency response capacity alongside healthcare professional training, NaijAidUK has donated 20 Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) to the Lagos State Ministry of Health. The donation is designed to complement the ILS training by making essential emergency response equipment more accessible and supporting the capacity of trained healthcare professionals to respond effectively to cardiac emergencies.
The organisation has also donated over 100 hospital beds, 200 wheelchairs and other medical equipment to government-owned hospitals, including facilities in Lagos, Ondo, Osogbo and Kwara states.
It has also expanded its work beyond equipment donations to include professional training, community first aid programmes and leadership development for nurses across Africa.
NaijAidUK plans to hold a series of health, mental health and emergency response programmes aimed at strengthening the capacity of healthcare professionals, students and members of the public. The activities will begin on October 27, with an Intermediate Life Support (ILS) training programme for clinicians. The specialised session is expected to equip healthcare practitioners with practical skills for responding to critical medical emergencies.
It will also host a general mental health awareness day on October 28, with students expected to participate. The programme will focus on promoting greater understanding of mental health and encouraging participants to recognise and respond appropriately to mental health concerns.
The charity will continue its activities on October 29 and 30, with a general first emergency response training programme designed to strengthen participants’ ability to respond effectively during emergencies before professional medical help arrives. The programme will climax on November 4, with a clinician health day, providing an opportunity to focus on the health and well being of healthcare professionals.
Head of Special Projects at the Lagos State Ministry of Health, Dr. Tolu Ajomale, stressed that emergencies do not always occur inside hospitals.
“Emergencies can happen anywhere,” he said, noting that the first person to respond is often not a medical professional but someone nearby with basic life-saving knowledge.
That is the gap NaijAidUK hopes to fill. Its programmes teach participants how to recognise emergencies, respond appropriately and provide basic care while waiting for professional assistance.
Healthcare practitioners receive more advanced training, including life-support techniques and practical approaches to recognising patient deterioration and cardiac arrest.
Chairman of NaijAidUK and HealthAidNG Charity, Dr John Babalola, led clinical sessions using real-life cases and international resuscitation guidelines.
The charity’s approach is therefore not limited to telling people what first aid means. It focuses on giving them practical skills that can be used under pressure.
Director of Ogun State Ambulance and Emergency Services, Dr. Hassan Adelakun, said Nigeria could not afford to wait for a perfect emergency response system before empowering citizens.
“We cannot wait for a perfect system; we must act decisively and build communities ready to respond,” he said.
Perhaps one of the most significant developments in the charity’s work is its effort to ensure that emergency preparedness does not exclude people living with disabilities.
That thinking inspired Project ACT, an initiative that took first aid training to members of the hearing and speech impairment community in Ilorin, Kwara State.
The programme was developed by a five-member team whose members had themselves undergone NaijAidUK’s intensive train-the-trainer programme in 2024.
Rather than treating disability as a barrier, Project ACT adapted first aid education to the communication needs of participants.
With the assistance of sign language interpreters, participants learnt CPR, choking management, wound care, burns management, bleeding control, patient assessment and responses to emergencies such as asthma, diabetes and severe allergic reactions.
Project Lead, Patricia Adetuase, said the initiative was built on the belief that access to life-saving knowledge should not depend on how a person communicates.
“This programme is not just another first aid training. It represents inclusivity and empowerment,” she said.
Participants were also introduced to alternative ways of communicating during emergencies, including whistles, hand signals, flashlights, communication cards and mobile phone alerts.
For members of the deaf community, such seemingly simple adaptations can make the difference between being able to call for help and being unable to communicate during a crisis.
Sign language interpreter, Dauda Abiodun described the training as an opportunity to acquire skills that could subsequently be passed on to others.
Another interpreter, Bello Aderonke Adebisi, said the practical knowledge gained would benefit members of the deaf community.
Despite the breadth of its activities, the charity’s biggest challenge remains funding.
Nehan-Babalola acknowledged that the organisation’s programmes are largely sustained through personal contributions, fundraising and donations.
“Most of our funding comes from what I call ‘the Bank of the Babalolas’,” she stated.
The organisation estimates that its annual activities cost about N30 million, while costs can exceed ₦100 million when flights, accommodation and other logistics are included.
Yet, participants are not charged for the programmes.
To raise funds, NaijAidUK has introduced the annual 250,000 steps challenge, a month-long fundraising campaign in which participants across the United Kingdom commit to walking 250,000 steps.
The campaign seeks to raise £30,000 for first aid training, healthcare professional development and medical equipment for Nigerian hospitals.
