About Us
The purpose of the EMT initiative is to improve the timeliness and quality of health services provided by national and international Emergency Medical Teams and enhance the capacity of national health systems in leading the activation and coordination of this response in the immediate aftermath of a disaster, outbreak and/or other emergency. Teams shall also include public health expertise and logistics support either included in the team or as specific public health or logistics rapid response teams.
EMTs are an important part of the global health workforce and have a specific role. Any doctor, nurse or paramedic team coming from another country to practice healthcare in an emergency needs to come as a member of a team. That team must have training, quality, equipment and supplies so it can respond with success rather impose a burden on the national system. EMTs must strive for self-sufficiency, meet the minimum standards for EMTs, and a possess the quality of care that is appropriate for the context.
Our Vision
Save lives – preserve health – alleviate suffering
Our Mission
To enhance preparedness and promote the rapid deployment and efficient coordination of Emergency Medical Teams adhering to minimum standards in order to reduce the loss of life and prevent long-term disability as a result of disasters, outbreaks and/or other emergencies
What does the Global EMT initiative enable countries to do?
- It enables countries to improve their own national capacity, which they are then able to use to assist other countries in emergencies.
- It enables affected countries to accept and use EMTs in a timely, coordinated manner.
- Host governments and affected populations can depend on EMTs from the list to arrive trained, equipped and capable of providing the intervention promised. Victims and their families can expect the clinical teams treating them to be of a safe minimum standard.
- Each team has unique individuals with various skill sets. Identifying these differences and placing them into the field requires coordination and communication to ensure the correct gaps are filled. EMT staff help facilitate and coordinate this placement.
What is an Emergency Medical Team (EMT)?
- EMTs are groups of health professionals (doctors, nurses, paramedics etc.) that treat patients affected by an emergency or disaster. They come from governments, charities (NGOs), militaries and international organizations such as the International Red Cross/Red Crescent movement. They work to comply with the classification and minimum standards set by WHO and its partners, and come trained and self-sufficient so as not to burden the national system.
- Emergency medical teams have a long history of responding to sudden onset disasters (SOD) such as the Haiti earthquake, the Indian Ocean Tsunami and the floods in Pakistan.
- EMTs historically have had a trauma and surgical focus, but Ebola has shown us their value in outbreak response and other forms of emergency.
- The Ebola response was the largest deployment of EMTs for an outbreak (58 teams), which pales in comparison to the 151 teams deployed to respond to Typhoon Haiyan in November 2013 and the nearly 300 teams deployed to Haiti following the earthquake.
- Requirements for emergency health response are broader than those required for sudden onset disasters and trauma. They must include the ability to care for diseases such as cholera, Shigella and Ebola, as well as teams to support populations affected by flood, conflict and protracted crises such as famine.