Improving Humanitarian Emergency Medical Team Operations in Conflict Settings

The number of conflict-affected individuals is climbing. Humanitarian organizations are increasingly needed to provide medical care when governments lack capacity to care for affected communities. While the World Health Organization's (WHO) Emergency Medical Team (EMT) initiative provides a verification process for organizations seeking to provide health care in the setting of various disasters, it does not address the unique operational challenges of deployment into conflict-affected communities. One solution is the implementation of a supplemental process similar to current verification procedures, wherein the WHO adopts a policy encouraging teams to complete an additional conflict-oriented verification, based on WHO Red Book recommendations, if they plan to operate in conflict settings The EMT initiative possesses expertise and the convening authority to drive international standards for care provision during health emergencies and is the obvious platform to create a rigorous process to ensure that EMTs in conflict zones are appropriately trained, vetted, and accountable.