Capacity Building

26th September, 2018 An Emergency Medical Team (EMT) Country Preparedness Workshop commenced today at Tanoa International Dateline Hotel aimed in providing an opportunity for key country health and emergency servicesÔÇÖ leaders to engage collectively and further strengthen the national capacity to respond to disaster emergencies and outbreaks including events that require the international emergencies teams.

The Ministry of Health (MOH) in collaboration with the World Health Organization are conducting the three-daysÔÇÖ workshop.

When a health emergency situation occurs, rapid response saves lives. The prompt humanitarian response and effective coordination of emergency medical personnel is especially crucial during the first three to five days of the emergency.

On 8 November 2013, the world watched as the strongest typhoon ever seen pummelled through the Philippines, taking over seven thousand lives and affecting an estimated sixteen million people in the archipelagic country.

The Health Emergency Management Bureau (HEMB) of the Department of Health (DoH) of the Philippines, together with the World Health Organization, concluded recently a series of planning workshops as part of the ÔÇ£Enhancing the Philippine Emergency Medical TeamsÔÇØ project. The project aims to reinforce the current emergency response capacity of the agency and ensure timely mobilization of its resources during disasters .

28 March 2017ÔÇöThirty staff members from the Health Bureau of Macao SAR participated in a two day workshop organized by the WHO Emergency Medical Teams (EMT) Initiative. This workshop helped brief health professionals on the mechanisms of an EMT response in the event of a disaster or a disease outbreak.

Galvanizing the development of operational standards for EMT response, WHO Indonesia in collaboration with the Health Crisis Centre of the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Indonesia held Informal Consultation on Standardization and Coordination of Emergency Medical Teams in Jakarta, Indonesia on 11-12 April 2017. 

8 March 2017ÔÇô A mission was conducted by WHO technical teams in Islamic Republic of Iran from 22 to 27 April 2017 to assess and assist the countryÔÇÖs emergency medical team system with the purpose of strengthening the response capacity across all-hazard emergencies. The mission brought together different stakeholders to discuss the most updated global practices and mechanisms.

Twenty-three health professionals from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan were trained on management and coordination of large-scale emergencies that require a response from medical teams. This is the first Emergency Medical Team (EMT) training for this part of the WHO European Region and took place in Astana, Kazakhstan on 16ÔÇô17 May 2017.

As Fiji prepares to enter the Cyclone season, representatives from the Ministry of Health, Fiji National Disaster Management Office, first responders from other government departments and agencies have completed a workshop organized by the World Health Organization.

The workshop was aimed at strengthening the national capacity and coordination of the Fiji Emergency Medical Team.

The training also ensured the Fiji Emergency Medical Team will be formally verified as a World Health Organization assured emergency medical team.