International first aid, resuscitation, and education guidelines

2020 International

first aid Guidelines

First aid remains a core area of work of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). The IFRC through the Global First Aid Reference Centre is a major first aid educator and provider in the world. Almost all 192 Red Cross Red Crescent National Societies have first aid as their core activity.

We believe first aid is a vital initial step for providing an effective and rapid intervention that can help reduce injury and suffering and improve the chances of survival. Taking immediate action and applying appropriate first aid measures makes a difference. Having high-quality, evidence-based first aid education available to people worldwide contributes to building safer and healthier communities by preventing and reducing risks in daily emergency, disaster and crisis situations.

The International first aid, resuscitation, and education guidelines 2020 evaluate and report on the science and good practice behind first aid, resuscitation and education. The Guidelines have been produced with the main goal of fostering harmonisation of first aid practices across the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement by providing a strong evidence-base. This includes working in collaboration with the ICRC and harmonising practices where appropriate.

The Guidelines serve as the foundation resources for first aid programme designers to develop their first aid materials such as manuals, programmes, courses, digital products, and public information. National Societies should use and adapt the Guidelines according to their local contexts.

Explore the guidelines

Published: 15 February 2021

First aid

Explore the first aid recommendations for more than 50 common illnesses and injuries. You’ll also find techniques for first aid providers and educators on topics such as assessing the scene and good hand hygiene.

First aid education

Choose from a selection of some common first aid education contexts and modalities. There are also some education strategy essentials to provide the theory behind our education approach.

About the guidelines

Here you can find out about the process for developing these Guidelines, and access some tools to help you implement them locally.

Number of people reached

In 2018 at least 20 million people were trained in first aid by Red Cross Red Crescent National Societies according to the 2018 survey carried out by the Reference Centre. 100 out of 192 National Societies responded to the survey. Around the globe there are more than 1,650,000 active first aid trainers (See Global survey 2018 data on first aid).

Every year more than 100 Red Cross Red Crescent National Societies participate in the World First Aid Day on the second Saturday of September. During this event, more than 900,000 volunteers and staff are mobilised and reach out to millions of people through social media and public events. With all those initiatives, more than 46 million people are reached by Red Cross Red Crescent National Societies with first aid and preventive health information.

2020 Guidelines

Download the PDF version of the guidelines.

What's new?

Learn what’s new or been updated since the 2016 Guidelines.

Advocacy paper

Implementation of the International first aid resuscitation and education guidelines differs from country to country due to differences in local legislation and regulation. However, it is necessary that National Societies advocate high quality standards in first aid. This paper outlines advocacy messages to help National Societies consult with governments and decision makers on the standards used for first aid and first aid education.

What you’ll find in the guidelines:

To ensure IFRC first aid is evidence-based and remains relevant to national and local contexts, the Reference Centre works with National Societies’ first aid, medical and education experts, the ICRC, and participates in numerous studies and research. The Guidelines is a key outcome of such an effort.