ISLAMABAD: Head of Prime Minister’s Strategic Reforms Salman Sufi on Monday said that the government under the direction of PM Shehbaz Sharif would soon add Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation to schools’ curriculum through which students would learn life-saving first-aid skills.

The health department in collaboration with the education and other concerned departments would work on a detailed curriculum on first aid and basic cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) for students in federal government schools, he told this in an interview with PTV News.

He explained that the federal government after one week would be able to launch a national initiative of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training across the country to save lives where immediate health facilities were not available.

Replying to a question, he said that an action plan for a nationwide training drive will be announced next week, adding he said that every citizen must be made capable of saving others in times of life-threatening distress.

He also urged the teaching community and media to inculcate the values of care, empathy and compassion among youth from schooling to make them responsible citizens.

To another query, he replied that CPR is a potentially life-saving technique that helps maintain blood circulation when someone’s heart stops beating, adding, that performing CPR in time can help in emergency situations where immediate medical help is not available.

The government would take all civil society organizations, provinces, media and other key stakeholders on board to turn the initiative into a national movement, which would have a far-reaching impact in saving millions of lives.