Efforts to deepen inclusive education in Nigeria received a significant boost as Project ACT, an initiative of NaijAidUK and Health Aid Charity, organised a specialised first aid training programme for members of the deaf community in Ilorin, Kwara State, providing participants with practical emergency response skills through accessible teaching methods designed to meet their communication needs.
The programme, which focused on persons with hearing and speech impairments, highlighted the growing need to ensure that educational opportunities extend beyond conventional classrooms to include learners with disabilities. By adapting first aid instruction through sign language interpretation, visual demonstrations, communication cards, hand signals, flashlights, whistles and mobile phone alerts, the organisers demonstrated that quality education becomes more impactful when learning barriers are deliberately removed.
Speaking during the opening ceremony, the Project Lead of Project ACT, Patricia Adetuase, explained that the initiative was created to prevent deaf persons from being excluded from first aid education. She noted that although first aid education continues to expand across Nigeria, many people with hearing and speech impairments are still unable to benefit because training sessions rarely accommodate their communication needs. She stated that the programme represents “inclusivity and empowerment,” adding that everyone deserves equal access to life-saving knowledge regardless of how they communicate. According to her, Project ACT also seeks to bridge the communication gap between hearing and non-hearing communities through accessible educational programmes.
Adetuase further disclosed that the project originated from the NaijAidUK Train-the-Trainer programme conducted in October 2024, where participants were encouraged to establish community-based initiatives capable of extending first aid education to underserved populations. She commended NaijAidUK and Health Aid Charity for supporting the project, noting that both organisations have consistently invested in healthcare education and capacity development across communities.
From an educational perspective, the training combined theory with practical demonstrations, enabling participants to build competencies in responding to medical emergencies. Facilitators guided learners through cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), patient assessment, choking management, bleeding control, wound care, burn treatment, asthma attacks, diabetic emergencies and severe allergic reactions while emphasising early recognition of emergencies and prompt referral for advanced medical care where necessary. Participants were also educated on harmful first-aid myths, including the application of toothpaste, butter, oil and methylated spirit on burns, and were taught scientifically approved emergency response techniques.
The initiative also strengthened educational capacity within institutions serving learners with disabilities. A sign language interpreter at the Centre for Students with Special Needs, University of Ilorin, Mr Dauda Abiodun, described the programme as highly beneficial, explaining that the practical sessions had broadened his understanding of first aid and would enable him to transfer the knowledge to many other members of the deaf community. Another interpreter, Mrs Bello Aderonke Adebisi, similarly observed that the training had equipped her with practical skills that would improve emergency preparedness among persons with hearing impairments.
Education advocates have increasingly emphasised that inclusive learning should encompass vocational, health and safety education alongside academic instruction. Programmes such as Project ACT demonstrate how specialised teaching methods can ensure that learners with disabilities acquire critical life skills that improve personal safety, confidence and community resilience while reinforcing the principle that access to education must remain equitable for every Nigerian, irrespective of physical or communication challenges.
