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The ICRC's long experience in treating war casualties has given it considerable expertise in this field. ICRC surgeons train expatriate medical staff who have volunteered to work for the organization and are new to the specific skills and techniques required in the field. They also teach local doctors these skills to enable them to take over and continue to treat the wounded once the ICRC teams have left. At the international level, courses and workshops are organized each year, such as the H.E.L.P. courses (Health Emergencies in Large Populations), which enable the ICRC to share its knowledge and experience. ICRC doctors publish manuals on war surgery and contribute to professional periodicals.

In an unsafe environment, gaining access to the wounded and transporting them to hospital can present considerable difficulties. The ICRC, in partnership with the local Red Cross or Red Crescent society, develops programmes for pre-hospital first aid and the evacuation and transportation of injured patients.

The ICRC also builds national societies' capacity to respond to emergency situations by, for instance, running first-aid courses for volunteers, which cover organization as well as life-saving techniques. The ICRC may provide national societies with communications equipment and ambulances to assist them in preparing for emergencies.


Working for the ICRC: surgeon; anaesthetist; operating theatre nurse; hospital administrator