National Programme to Train One Million Emergency Responders

The UAE has launched a nationwide Community Readiness programme to train one million community responders to provide safe, organised assistance during the critical first minutes of emergencies, crises and disasters before professional response teams arrive.

Launched under the Integrated National Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Programme (Jaheziya), the initiative is open to members of the public, volunteers, students, employees and community groups. It forms part of a broader national preparedness framework that brings together government entities, healthcare providers, emergency services, military and security organisations, private sector partners and civil society.

The programme is delivered across four progressive training levels. Participants begin with emergency preparedness, first aid, CPR, automated external defibrillator (AED) use, bleeding control, choking response, fire safety, evacuation procedures and psychological first aid. More advanced stages cover incident management, casualty triage, leadership, volunteer coordination, emergency planning, strategic communication and the training of future instructors.

The initiative is supported through partnerships with universities, training centres and professional institutions across the United States, Canada, Europe, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand. These collaborations aim to strengthen knowledge transfer, establish unified training standards and expand the country's capacity to prepare certified emergency responders.