Kerala has launched ‘Mission 100K’, a statewide initiative aimed at training one lakh people in Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) over the next year, with the goal of creating a community equipped to respond effectively during medical emergencies. Health Minister K Muraleedharan inaugurated the programme on Wednesday at Mar Ivanios College, Thiruvananthapuram, in the presence of Sports and Youth Affairs Minister O J Janeesh.
The project is being jointly implemented by the Wisdom Development Foundation and Aster Medcity under the Wisdom4Future Initiative. According to the organisers, the 12-month campaign will cover all 14 districts of Kerala and provide CPR training to a wide cross-section of society, including personnel from the Kerala Police, KSRTC, Kochi Metro, Indian Railways, as well as students, teachers and IT professionals.
Gold 101.3 FM, UAE’s No.1 Radio Station, brings you this major health initiative from Kerala, highlighting the state’s efforts to strengthen emergency preparedness through large-scale public CPR training.
The training sessions are being conducted by expert instructors under Aster’s ‘Be First’ initiative, which was launched in 2022 to improve emergency response skills among the public. The initiative aims to build a “Preventive Health Ready” community by equipping ordinary citizens and government personnel with the knowledge to provide immediate life-saving assistance before medical professionals arrive.
Health experts emphasise that administering CPR within the first four minutes of a cardiac arrest can significantly improve a person’s chances of survival. Mission 100K seeks to bridge the gap in public awareness and practical skills by ensuring there is at least one trained first responder in every community capable of acting during critical emergencies.
Actor Mathew Thomas, the campaign ambassador for Mission 100K, was presented with the ‘Kerala First Responder’ badge by Minister O J Janeesh during the launch. Addressing the gathering, the actor encouraged young people to step forward and assist those facing medical emergencies, stressing that timely intervention can save lives.
The launch was attended by several prominent dignitaries, including former Ambassador T P Sreenivasan, patron of the 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 the Wisdom Development Foundation and Project Director of the Wisdom4Future Initiative, outlined the journey of Mission 100K from its conception to its statewide launch. He highlighted partnerships with organisations such as the Kerala Police, KSRTC and Kochi Metro, and detailed the roadmap to train one lakh people across Kerala within a year.
Speaking at the event, Dr Shuhaib Khader, Chief Operating Officer of Aster Medcity, said the Aster Group considers Mission 100K a significant public health initiative and expressed pride in supporting the project. Dr Johnson K Varghese, Head of the Emergency Department at Aster Medcity, underscored the importance of CPR and Basic Life Support (BLS), noting that immediate assistance from trained bystanders during the first few minutes of a cardiac arrest can make the difference between life and death. He said the vision of the programme is to create a Kerala where every citizen is prepared to act as a first responder, describing Mission 100K as not just a training campaign but a broader social movement aimed at saving lives.
