Health Minister K Muraleedharan on Wednesday launched ‘Mission 100K’, a state-level awareness initiative aimed at imparting CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) training to one lakh people in Kerala. Sports and Youth Affairs Minister O J Janeesh also attended the event held at Mar Ivanios College, Thiruvananthapuram.
The project is jointly executed by the Wisdom Development Foundation and Aster Medcity under the ‘Wisdom4Future Initiative’. “Spanning 12 months across all 14 districts, this massive project will reach all sections of society, including the Kerala Police, KSRTC, Kochi Metro, Railway employees, students, teachers, and IT professionals,” an official release said.
Expert trainers are leading the CPR training sessions as part of Aster’s ‘Be First’ initiative. The project aims to build a ‘Preventive Health Ready’ community capable of providing immediate first response during emergencies by training the general public and various government departments.
Health experts point out that providing CPR within the first four minutes of a cardiac arrest significantly increases the chances of survival. “Mission 100K is designed to bridge the gap caused by the lack of this basic life-saving skill among the vast majority of the public, ensuring that there is at least one person everywhere who knows how to save a life,” the release said.
Actor Mathew Thomas, the campaign ambassador for Mission 100K, received the ‘Kerala First Responder’ badge from Minister O J Janeesh during the event. The event was also attended by former Ambassador T P Sreenivasan, the patron of Wisdom Development Foundation, State Police Chief Ravada A Chandrasekhar, Major General C G Arun AVSM, Director of NCC (Kerala & Lakshadweep), Brigadier Anurag Upadhyaya, Station Commander, Station Headquarters Army, and Fr Thomas Kayyalackal, Manager of Mar Ivanios College.
Michael Mathew, Chairman of Wisdom Development Foundation and Project Director of the Wisdom4Future Initiative, detailed the journey of the project from conception to its state-level launch today, partnerships with organisations like Kerala Police, KSRTC, and Kochi Metro, and the action plan to train one lakh people across 14 districts within a year.
During the event, actor Mathew Thomas highlighted the importance of youth coming forward to offer a helping hand during emergencies, especially health crises.
Aster has been conducting such training sessions through ‘Be-First’, established in 2022. By empowering individuals to handle medical emergencies with confidence and precision, these initiatives aim to significantly reduce pre-hospital deaths. Aster had also previously organised a roadshow called ‘Jeevitham’ to raise awareness about first aid and trauma care across Kerala.
Dr Shuhaib Khader, Chief Operating Officer of Aster Medcity, stated that the Aster Group views a large-scale public health project like Mission 100K with great importance. He added that they are extremely happy to support this initiative brought forward by the Wisdom4Future Initiative and its Project Director, Michael Mathew.
Dr Johnson K Varghese, Head of Emergency Department at Aster Medcity, spoke at the event about the importance of CPR and Basic Life Support (BLS). He explained how crucial the first aid and CPR provided by bystanders in the initial moments of a cardiac arrest can be in saving a life. He remarked that the goal is to create a Kerala where every citizen becomes a first responder, emphasising that this is not merely a training program, but a social movement.
