2020 International
first aid Guidelines
About the Guidelines
About the Guidelines
The International first aid, resuscitation, and education guidelines 2020 evaluate and report on the science and good practice behind first aid, resuscitation and education.
Process to develop the Guidelines
Find out about the process that was used to develop the Guidelines and learn about the underpinning structure of the topics.
Evidence to action
Access guidance to help you implement the Guidelines. The evidence to action consists of three elements:
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.
First aid is part of a common vision: to inspire, encourage, facilitate and promote humanitarian activities by alleviating human suffering and respecting human dignity. We believe everyone has the potential to save lives. First aid education and services are essential tools for achieving these goals.
We advocate for first aid to be accessible to all and that at least one person in each household has access to learning first aid regardless of their socioeconomic status or other potentially discriminatory factors.
Explore the Guidelines
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.