Applying the Surge Capacity Components for Capacity-Building Purposes in the Context of the EMT Initiative

Lina Echeverri (), Flavio Salio, Richard Parker, Pryanka Relan, Oleg Storozhenko, Ives Hubloue and Luca Ragazzoni
Additional contact information
Lina Echeverri: CRIMEDIM (Center for Research and Training in Disaster Medicine, Humanitarian Aid and Global Health), Università del Piemonte Orientale, 13100 Vercelli, Italy
Flavio Salio: World Health Organization, 1211 Geneva, Switzerland
Richard Parker: Training in Aid, QLA 2130 Qala, Malta
Pryanka Relan: World Health Organization, 1211 Geneva, Switzerland
Oleg Storozhenko: World Health Organization, EURO Regional Office, DK-2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
Ives Hubloue: REGEDIM (Research Group on Emergency and Disaster Medicine), Vrije Universiteit, 101 Jette Brussel, Belgium
Luca Ragazzoni: CRIMEDIM (Center for Research and Training in Disaster Medicine, Humanitarian Aid and Global Health), Università del Piemonte Orientale, 13100 Vercelli, Italy

IJERPH, 2024, vol. 21, issue 12, 1-18

Abstract: Background: On 16 January 2021 (EB148/18 Session), the World Health Organization (WHO) and Member States emphasized the importance of expanding the WHO Emergency Medical Teams (EMT) Initiative, investing in a global health workforce and multidisciplinary teams capable of being rapidly deployed, equipped, and fully trained to respond to all-hazard emergencies effectively. This resulted in the need to define a comprehensive framework. To achieve this, the EMT Initiative proposes the application of the four components of Surge Capacity, known as the 4“S” (Staff, Systems, Supplies, and Structure/Space), to build global capacities and capabilities, ensuring rapid mobilization and efficient coordination of national and international medical teams for readiness and response, complying with crisis standards of care defined in an ethical and evidence-based manner. Methods : A mixed-qualitative research approach was used, incorporating expert consensus through focus group discussions (FGDs), between 2021 and July 2022. This facilitated a detailed process analysis for the application of the surge capacity components to build global capacities and capabilities. This research highlighted the similarities between surge capacity and capacity building from an initial desk review and unified these concepts within the EMT Initiative. A standardized formal pathway was developed to enhance local, regional, and global capacities for emergency readiness and response. Results : The results showed that the framework successfully integrated the essential components of surge capacity and capacity building, making it adaptable to various settings. Conclusions: This framework provides a unified and replicable approach for readiness and response for all-hazards emergencies.

Keywords: capability building; capacity building; disaster preparedness; emergency medical teams; health systems resilience; surge capability; surge capacity; readiness and response (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/21/12/1712/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/21/12/1712/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:21:y:2024:i:12:p:1712-:d:1550501

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().