world restart a heart day

All citizens of the world can save a life”

In 2018, the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation (ILCOR) launched the first global initiative on cardiac arrest with the slogan of “All citizens of the world can save a life”. Since then, each 16th of October is now the annual WRAH day (World Restart A Heart day), to raise public awareness on cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) practice.

Seven out of ten cardiac arrests happen in front of bystanders, however less than 20% of lay bystanders end up providing first aid. Furthermore, lay bystander resuscitation rates differ significantly across the world, ranging from 5% to 80%. Hence, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), through the Global First Aid Reference Centre (GFARC), made a partnership with ILCOR in order to promote qualitative first aid education based on scientific evidence and practice for cardiac arrest. 

Beside ILCOR, WRAH have the support of the European Resuscitation Council that aims to preserve human life by making high quality resuscitation available to all providing courses, events and guidelines and coordinating the European Network.

Every year, the Global First Aid Reference Centre produces a tool pack including a communication leaflet and pedagogic tools tailored-made for the National Societies and they used it during their respective events: CPR journey, short trainings, picture frame, first aid talks, quiz. However, involvement with WRAH can be done by encouraging National Societies to develop their own strategy that fit their local context.

 

Since 2019, the Philips Foundation has supported us in producing some tools for African National Societies, organising massive public training events in the capitals and, beyond that, starting long-term trainings of trainers plans and providing resuscitation materials in the communities. We wish to extend that kind of support to other National Societies in the near future. 

Thanks to all that, in 2019, no fewer than 5.4 million people learned CPR!

You can find in our resources page examples of good practices from previous years and downloads of materials. 

People learned cardiopulmonary resuscitation!

Want to organise World Restart A Heart Day in your country?