Good Samaritan law

First Aid & CPR Cameroon

The Good Samaritan: compassion and protection

Drawn from the Bible (Luke 10:25-37), the parable of the Good Samaritan tells of a traveller left for dead who is rescued by a stranger that tends to him and sees to his care. Beyond its religious context, it carries a universal message: the moral duty to help others in danger, through compassion and altruism.

Inspired by this principle, many so-called Good Samaritan laws have been enacted around the world to protect those who assist in good faith during an emergency from legal action. The exact scope of that protection, however, varies from one jurisdiction to another: here is what the law applicable to your region provides.

Statute citation

Governing act Penal Code (Law No. 2016/007 of 12 July 2016), Section 283 — "Failure to render assistance" (non-assistance à personne en danger). As a civil-law jurisdiction, the code imposes an affirmative duty to assist rather than immunity for the rescuer.
Scope of protection Penalizes anyone who voluntarily abstains from giving a person in danger of death or serious bodily harm the assistance he could provide without risk to himself or third parties, whether by his own action or by summoning help. The duty binds everyone, not only professionals.
Duty to rescue Yes
Penalty for failure to assist Imprisonment of 1 month to 3 years and a fine of 20,000 to 1,000,000 CFA francs (FCFA/XAF), or either penalty alone.
AED liability protection No
Legal duty to rescue applies

Your protection under the law

In Cameroon, the law does more than tolerate first aid — it expects it. Section 283 of the Penal Code (Law No. 2016/007 of 12 July 2016) punishes the "failure to render assistance" and binds every citizen, not only health professionals. It penalizes anyone who voluntarily withholds help from a person in danger of death or serious bodily harm when they could have acted without risk to themselves or others, whether by their own hands or by summoning help.

Duty to rescue

This duty is not symbolic: failing it exposes you to one month to three years' imprisonment and a fine of 20,000 to 1,000,000 CFA francs. Far from a threat, the obligation recognizes a simple truth — in a life-threatening emergency, the first person on the scene often decides the outcome. Knowing what to do turns a legal requirement into a genuine ability to act with confidence.

Why training matters

When a heart stops, every minute without resuscitation drops the chance of survival by roughly 10 percent. In Cameroon, where help can take time to arrive, the first witness is not a bystander but the first link in the chain of survival. Learning CPR and first aid gives you the calm and the method to act in those decisive moments. Training today means holding the power to save a life tomorrow — a loved one's, a colleague's, or a stranger's.