EMT TTT

Duration: 2023 - 2025

Partner countries: Indonesia, Namibia, Uganda, global

Partner institutions:

• Ministry of Health and Social Services, Namibia
• Muhammadiyah Disaster Management Center (MDMC), Indonesia
• Ministry of Health, Uganda
• World Health Organization (WHO), Secretariat of the WHO EMT Initiative, Switzerland
• WHO Regional Office for Europe, Denmark
• WHO Regional Office for South East Asia, India
• Johanniter International Assistance, Germany
• International Search and Rescue Germany e. V. (I.S.A.R. Germany), Germany
• Malteser International, Germany

Involved RKI unit: ZIG 3

Latest updates:

• Meeting in support of Ugandan roadmap towards a national Emergency Medical Team
• Closer cooperation, improved preparation for deployments – a look back on the EMT National Stakeholder Meeting
• Emergency Medical Teams from Germany and Indonesia develop roadmap for further cooperation

Challenges addressed by the project

Emergency Medical Teams (EMTs) are WHO classified teams who, in accordance with minimum quality standards, respond as surge capacities nationally or internationally to disasters, disease outbreaks or other health-related emergencies. In recent years, building national EMT capacities has increasingly been given the priority as key emergency response resource for countries. Yet, not all WHO regions have established and classified National EMTs. Bridging this challenge can be facilitated by supporting national capacities in their processes via training activities and twinning collaborations, with a focus on knowledge exchange between teams.

Objectives

The goal of the project is to build on the expertise of classified German EMTs as well as on core competencies of RKI to strengthen EMT national capacities and response systems in partner countries and to overall enhance the WHO EMT initiative’s impact and sustainability through networks, mutual learning, knowledge management and experience-sharing across regions.

This is done via three inter-linked sub-goals: a) EMT National Capacity Building/“Twinning” between German EMTs and partners in Indonesia, Uganda and Namibia with a special focus on IPC/outbreak-related response; b) the development and implementation of EMTCC technical and coordination trainings in cooperation with WHO and partners in the newly established EMT Regional Training Centres for the EURO and AFRO region; c) by supporting the establishment of an EMT information platform called KIMEP (Knowledge and Information Management Emergency Platform). The aim of KIMEP is to be a comprehensive, consolidated and interconnected database across all EMT Initiative areas of work (incl. governance, standardization, quality assurance, mentorship and classification, coordination in deployments and capacity building).

Overview of activities

Twinning/EMT National Capacity Building:
A long-term partnership between a classified German EMT and a partner institution or organization is established to support the development of EMT national capacities in partner countries. Following a mutual analysis of challenges and capacity building needs, activities will be identified and transferred into a roadmap. Theoretical input is operationalized through training and capacity-building measures and eventually simulation exercises. Support activities include EMT processes/systems/SOPs, EMT expert skills and other areas. Twinning activities can also include cooperation during EMT deployments e.g. in the form of joint deployments or mixed teams.

Training:
To ensure a coordinated response of national and international EMTs in disasters or outbreaks, an EMT Coordination Cell (EMTCC), collocated within a national Health Emergency Operations Centre, is established for this purpose. WHO has developed a standard EMTCC methodology which is regularly being updated and which forms the basis for EMTCC trainings. The EMT TTT project aims to support EMTCC training courses in Germany as well as in the AFRO and EURO regions, in terms of organizational aspects, but more importantly through the provision of training support by German EMT experts who have already been EMTCC-trained and deployed in the capacity as EMTCC coordinators as well as the German EMT National Focal Point Team at RKI.

Transfer of Knowledge:
WHO is in the process of establishing and launching the KIMEP platform, which constitutes of different modules, corresponding to EMT Initiative areas of work. The EMT TTT project will support the development of the governance module of the platform by capacitating the consultancy services needed for its establishment.

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