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Red Cross App will help Kiwis Save Lives
NEWS RELEASE
12 September 2014
RED CROSS APP WILL HELP KIWIS SAVE LIVES AND RESPOND TO EMERGENCIES
New Zealand Red Cross will launch a free app offering step-by-step first aid and emergency advice to mark World First Aid Day on Saturday 13 September.
The New Zealand Red Cross First Aid and Emergency App provides information on everyday first aid scenarios, tips on how to prepare for disasters and instructions on what to do during an emergency.
Tony Paine, Secretary General of New Zealand Red Cross says the app is a lifesaving tool that everyone should have in their back pocket.
“Emergencies can happen any time, anywhere and can affect anyone. The first people to respond to any type of disaster are everyday people - not doctors, paramedics or emergency responders. In an emergency 90 per cent of lives are saved by local people.
“If a friend was having a heart attack or was choking, would you know what do to? Is your emergency preparedness kit up-to-date? The app answers these questions so download it and get ready to be a life-saver,” Mr Paine says.
Information, videos, and interactive quizzes are preloaded to the app, ensuring instant access to lifesaving information even without cell phone reception or an internet connection.
The app was developed for New Zealand Red Cross as part of a global initiative by the Red Cross Movement’s Global Disaster Preparedness Centre in Washington DC.
Other Red Cross societies around the world have successfully launched their own versions of the app, which have had more than 2 million downloads. @NZRedCross facebook.com/newzealandredcross
“We know first aid saves lives and after hearing several stories from our Red Cross partners around the world of how the app content has helped someone, we were very keen to develop our own app with content specific to New Zealand,” Mr Paine says.
New Zealand Red Cross disaster response trucks will be at free Wi-Fi hotspots to the launch the app this Saturday in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin. Red Cross volunteers will also be on hand to help download the app and offer first aid and emergency response advice.
For details on launch events and to download the app visit: www.redcross.org.nz/app
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