By learning simple ways you can make a difference in life or death situations, for instance:

- immediate cardiopulmonary resuscitation can double or triple the chances of survival for a heart attack casualty,

- an unconscious patient with a blocked airway can have only 4 minutes to live – unless a bystander steps forward and does something as simple as tilting the head back and as placing in recovery position to enable to breath,

- basic procedures like cooling a burn can reduce the need for skin grafting, lessen injury and promote healing.

The Red Cross and Red Crescent National Societies believe that first aid is a basic life skill that everyone should learn; this is why they offer a wide-range of courses for the public, they can also design first aid sessions specifically for some target groups. The range of courses is wide in terms of:

- duration: from 1 hour to 15 hours for the first levels of training,

- methodology: face to face training, e-learning,

- target groups: workers, drivers, children, elderly...