Recently, Yan Hui, Director of the Emergency Office of West China Hospital (WCH), Sichuan University, and Zou Ling, Vice Director, were invited by the World Health Organization (WHO) and appointed by the National Health Commission of the People’s Republic of China to attend the 26th WHO Global Emergency Medical Teams (EMT) Strategic Advisory Group Meeting in Geneva, Switzerland. They delivered a report and exchanged views on the team development experience and operation of the China International Emergency Medical Team (Sichuan).

During the meeting, WCH representatives, together with the delegation of the National Health Commission, held in-depth discussions with Ms. Chantra Gilmore, WHO Representative for the Western Pacific Region, on topics including EMT re-verification, regional collaboration mechanisms, and application for WHO Collaboration Center.

Representatives of our hospital also visited the WHO Headquarters in Geneva and attended a consultation meeting on the tripartite cooperative project among WHO, the Hong Kong Charity Institute, and our hospital. Dr. Flavio Salio, Head of the WHO Global Health Emergency Corps (GHEC), Dr. Camila Philbert Lajolo, Head of the WHO EMT Team, and other officials attended the meeting. At the meeting, representatives of our hospital introduced the hospital and the emergency medical team, focusing on the practical achievements of the China International Emergency Medical Team (Sichuan) in the development of training and exercise systems, scientific research and innovation in medical emergency response, and international development, which received high recognition from WHO officials. The three parties unanimously agreed that under the framework of the EMT 2030 Strategy, with the goal of building the capacity of national-level EMTs worldwide, they will jointly carry out cooperation in developing the EMT competency training system (including courses, teaching materials, faculty, etc.), scientific research and innovation on EMT systems and equipment, and promoting the global EMT network, and integrate the Sichuan experience into the reference for improving global EMT capacity.

The Global EMT Strategic Advisory Group Meeting is a core decision-making and strategic planning meeting under the WHO Emergency Medical Teams management framework. The meeting brought together top global experts to discuss, formulate and review policies, standards and future development directions in the EMT field. Key topics included the work plan based on the EMT 2030 Strategy, integrating climate risks into the preparedness and operations of emergency medical teams, and the development of the international network of emergency medical teams.

In the next step, under the overall guidance of the National Health Commission and the joint support of WHO and the Institute of Philanthropy at Hong Kong, WCH will focus on the capacity building of the emergency medical team, advance the international development of the training system, courses and faculty, take the lead in preparing for the establishment of the Asia-Pacific EMT Alliance and apply for the WHO Global Collaboration Center. It will expand cooperation with WHO in EMT capacity certification, telemedicine emergency support and other fields, and provide customized international EMT capacity improvement programs for South-South Cooperation. WCH will continue to export replicable and scalable Chinese solutions, contribute West China’s efforts to the implementation of the global EMT 2030 Strategy and the building of a global community of health for all.