NaijAidUK marks 10 years with first aid and mental health training in Lagos
- A UK-registered charity trained doctors, nurses, students and residents in Lagos over four days in late October.
- The sessions covered immediate life support, mental health awareness and general first aid for the public.
- The charity says it has trained more than 8,000 people in Nigeria in its first decade.
A UK-registered charity that works in Nigeria through HealthAid Charity has taken first aid, emergency response and mental health awareness training to doctors, nurses, students and ordinary residents in Lagos.
The four-day programme ran from October 27 to 30, 2026, and was tied to NaijAidUK's 10th anniversary. Organisers said the aim was to help people spot an emergency, step in before help arrives and support someone going through a mental health crisis.
The charity's chief executive and founding trustee, Dr Lanre Nehan-Babalola, said the plan is for those trained to go on and teach others in their homes, schools and communities. "We believe in training one and saving many," she said, explaining the train-the-trainer approach.
What was taught
The programme opened with an Immediate Life Support course for clinicians, including doctors, nurses, midwives and community health workers. A Mental Health Awareness Day for students and members of the public followed, and the event closed with two days of general first aid training.
Omowunmi Folashade Ekong, Director of Nursing at the Lagos State Ministry of Health, praised the mental health session as timely. She said participants were taught to notice stress and early warning signs, offer support and refer people for professional care.
Dr Festus Adetonwa, Director of Ogun State Ambulance and Emergency Services, spoke for the state's health commissioner. He said the first minutes after an accident or sudden collapse can decide the outcome, so members of the public need basic life-saving skills while they wait for an ambulance. He also urged efforts to end the stigma around mental health so people feel able to seek help.
NaijAidUK, founded in 2015, said it has trained more than 3,000 health workers and 5,000 non-medical citizens in first aid and emergency response over the past decade. Its work has also included donating medical equipment, supporting the professional development of health workers and running community health projects.
The charity said its clinical and emergency courses are UK-certified and delivered by clinicians trained in the United Kingdom, in line with World Health Organisation guidance. Through a project called Project ACT, it also adapts first aid teaching for people with hearing and speech impairments.
What happens next
As part of its anniversary, the charity called for closer partnership with government agencies, hospitals, schools, businesses and community groups to widen access to first aid and mental health education across the country.
