The Ministry of Interior's High Committee for Child Protection, represented by the Ministry's Child Protection Center, announced its support and participation in the Community program, implemented by several institutions at the State level. The said Program will offer parents and child-care providers the opportunity to acquire skills and expertise to enhance chances of survival of children from injuries caused by traffic accidents; fires; falling from the balconies; drowning; poisoning, etc.
Major General Nasser Lakhrebani Al Nuaimi, Secretary General of the Office of Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Interior and Chairman of the High Committee for Child Protection at the Ministry of Interior, indicated that the “Train the Trainers’”, supported by the Ministry of Interior, embodies the vision of HH Lt. General Sheikh Saif Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior to make the UAE a humanitarian hub and a center of excellence in all areas of child protection.
Moreover, he explained that the program tackles the obligations stipulated in the Wadeema draft law on child protection, which was recently published, and will be discussed by the Federal National Council soon. The program includes 60 hours of practical training and comes in line with the strategic initiatives and projects aimed at achieving this noble vision.
Al Nuaimi highlighted that the entity cooperating in the development of the program in the UAE, will oversee the training of volunteers in the program. It is a specialized organization in child injury prevention programs, supported by the UK based organization, “First Aid Awards”, the awarding body for First Aid Training and Health & Safety Training.
“The organization will support the selection process to choose eligible volunteers from all over the UAE, to carry out the task of helping the Ministry of Interior’s Child Protection Center communicate with the various segments of society throughout the country, through education and training,” he added.
For his part, Lt. Colonel Faisal Mohammed Al Shammari, Director of the Ministry of Interior's Child Protection Center explained that training volunteers to work within the “Train the Trainers” Program will not only be limited to the Ministry of Interior’s staff, but will include other segments. Special regulations are being developed to determine the admission criteria and accreditation requirements, including requirements to ensure the continuity of cognitive development, practice, as well as the number of training programs in which the trainer will participate, as part of the training programs accredited and supported by the Centre. Moreover, he indicated that evaluation for trainers participating in the program will continue, based on the output of the courses they will partake in, as trainees; or that they will organize as trainers, under the supervision of the Centre; as well as the feedback from participants in the courses given by these trainers.
It is worth mentioning that the Ministry of Interior had recently organized a preliminary training workshop for mothers, on ways to deal with home emergency situations involving children (such as drowning, suffocation and burns). The workshop was held at the police officers Club in Abu Dhabi, in cooperation with Abu Dhabi Health Authority and “Back to Basics”, a UAE Organization, specialized in Pediatric First Aid and child injury prevention programs.
During the workshop, Tracy Fountain, founder of the “Back to Basics” organization, stressed the need for specialized programs that can have a positive impact on current behaviors, and promote positive preventive aspects in all UAE households.
