Emergency (organization)

Last updated
EMERGENCY
Formation1994;30 years ago (1994)
Founder Gino Strada
TypeInternational medical NGO
Headquarters Milan, Italy
Location
President
Rossella Miccio
Website en.emergency.it

Emergency (stylized as EMERGENCY in all caps) is a humanitarian NGO that provides free medical treatment to the victims of war, poverty, and landmines. It was founded in 1994. Gino Strada, one of the organization's co-founders, served as EMERGENCY's Executive Director. [1] It operates on the premise that access to high-quality healthcare is a fundamental human right. [2]

Contents

The organization has treated over 12 million patients since its inception, and has active operations in Afghanistan, Eritrea, Iraq, Italy, Sierra Leone, Sudan, and Uganda.

President Museveni commissioning the EMERGENCY Children's Surgical Hospital in Entebbe President Museveni commissioning the EMERGENCY Children's Surgical Hospital in Entebbe.jpg
President Museveni commissioning the EMERGENCY Children's Surgical Hospital in Entebbe

Projects usually involve the construction and operation of permanent hospitals, as well as training of local staff. The original aim was to bring free, high-quality medical assistance to war victims. Over time, their projects assumed a broader view, now providing specialist and ongoing medical care in locations that require these facilities and expertise.

EMERGENCY was recognized as a non-profit organization in 1998, and received jurisdictional approval as a non-governmental organization in 1999. It has been an official partner of the United Nations Department of Public Information since 2006, and a special consultant for the United Nations Economic and Social Council since 2015. [1]

Activities

General operations

EMERGENCY begins operations in a specific region or country based on the need for specialized medical assistance, and the absence of similar humanitarian projects in that country. Once a project is initiated, specialized international personnel construct and operate high-quality facilities, as well as first aid posts, and health centers for basic medical assistance. The organization also deals with endemic diseases such as polio and malaria and provides basic health care in these circumstances, as well as establishing social development projects, not only in war-torn areas, but also in high poverty regions. Since 2005, it has worked in Italy to provide healthcare to marginalized groups and communities.

The organization builds and manages:

Local Staff

The aim of its projects is to transfer long-term project management to local healthcare authorities, as long as high-quality and free assistance are guaranteed. The organization has employed thousands of local staff in the countries they operate to cover both medical and non-medical positions. The organization provides both theoretical and practical training and considers this an integral part of its programs. [4]

International branches

EMERGENCY has offices and affiliates in Belgium, Switzerland, the UK and the USA.

Current projects

Afghanistan

Emergency building in Anabah, Afghanistan, with Hindu Kush mountains in the background. Emergency-hospital-anabah.jpg
Emergency building in Anabah, Afghanistan, with Hindu Kush mountains in the background.
An Emergency supply lorry under the snow in Anabah, Afghanistan Emergency-truck-anabah.jpg
An Emergency supply lorry under the snow in Anabah, Afghanistan

The organization has been working in Afghanistan since 1999, where it has treated more than 8 million patients. EMERGENCY runs a Surgical Center for victims of war and landmines in Kabul, the capital. It runs a Surgical Center in Lashkar-Gah; [5] the only free, specialized facility in the Helmand Province and in the remote areas, surrounding it with first aid posts. It operates two centers in the district of Anabah, Panjshir Valley: a medical-surgical center opened in 1999 and a maternity center opened in 2003. As with its other projects, it has established a network of First Aid Posts and Primary Health Clinics connected to the center. [6] [7]

Eritrea

Emergency began work in Eritrea in 2019, providing support for the cardiac clinics at the Orotta Medical Surgical National Referral Hospital in Asmara. [8] The hospital is also linked to Emergency's Salam Centre for Cardiac Surgery through a regional cardiac surgery referral program.

Italy

The organization has been working with migrants, refugees and disadvantaged individuals in Italy since 2005. Through a network of outpatient clinics (located in Palermo, Polistena, Marghera, Castel Volturno, Naples), it has provided over 210,000 consultations. It also runs Mobile Clinics across Italy, which are intended to provide healthcare in places were access to public facilities is limited, including farming areas, refugee and migrant reception centers, and Roma camps; they are housed in converted buses, minivans and lorries. [9] In 2020, during the Covid-19 crisis, Emergency assisted in building a field hospital in Bergamo. [10]

The organization also plays a strong advocacy role in Italy, and its lobbying is considered to have influenced the Italian Parliament's decision to ban the production, sale, and use of landmines in 1997. [11]

Iraq

The organization has been established in Iraq since 1995, primarily treating victims of landmines from the 1981-1988 conflict. The Sulaimaniya Rehabilitation and Social Reintegration Center provides physiotherapy, the fitting of prostheses for amputees, and vocational training courses.

In 2017, it reestablished operations at the surgical center in Erbil that it had handed over to local authorities in 2005. The decision was taken due to the hospital's proximity to the Battle for Mosul. Throughout the year, the organization provided free medical assistance to casualties of war . As the acute phase of fighting ended, the hospital was handed back to be run by local authorities, having performed 1,749 surgical operations during its intervention, mainly for bullet and shell injuries. [12] [13]

Search and Rescue in the Mediterranean

In December 2022, EMERGENCY began maritime search and rescue (SAR) services in the Central Mediterranean with its ship Life Support . The ship operates between the Italian island of Lampedusa and the Libyan coast, providing aid and emergency medical assistance to migrants attempting to cross in unseaworthy vessels. [14]

EMERGENCY previously provided medical aid, cultural mediation and post-rescue assistance onboard Migrant Offshore Aid Station’s (MOAS) ship Topaz Responder in 2016, and onboard Proactiva Open Arms’ ship Open Arms between 2019 and 2022. [15]

Sierra Leone

EMERGENCY Hospital in Sierra Leone ⇒ Film-Camera.png playlist

Emergency runs a Surgical Center in Goderich, near the capital Freetown.

During the Ebola crisis, staff were trained in containing the spread of the disease at their established surgical and pediatric center in Goderich. With the virus spreading rapidly, they opened an intensive care unit for Ebola patients - the only facility of its kind in Sierra Leone. As hospitals were overwhelmed, their center was the only surgical and pediatric center to remain open in the entire country. [16] [17]

Sudan

The Salam Center for Cardiac Surgery in Khartoum serves over 50,000 patients every year. [18] The 63-bed facility was designed by Studio TAMassociati [19] and won the Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 2013. [20] The Salam Center was the first facility in the African Network of Medical Excellence, a collaborative initiative with African health ministries to develop a better, more sustainable health system that addresses regional needs. [21]

The organization also runs a network of Pediatric Centers across the country: in Mayo, a suburb that evolved from a refugee camp on the outskirts of Khartoum, since December 2005, [22] in Port Sudan since 2011, [23] and in Nyala. Activities in Nyala were suspended in 2011 after the kidnapping of an EMERGENCY worker in Darfur, [24] but resumed in 2020. [25]

Uganda

The Children’s Surgical Hospital in Entebbe is the second facility in the African Network of Medical Excellence, offering free pediatric surgery to children across the region. [21] When the 72-bed hospital was opened in 2021, it tripled the number of pediatric surgical beds available in Uganda. [26] The hospital was designed pro bono by architect Renzo Piano. [27]

Map of countries where EMERGENCY operates and has completed programs Map of EMERGENCY's international programs.png
Map of countries where EMERGENCY operates and has completed programs

Completed Projects

Emergency has completed projects in Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Cambodia, Central African Republic, Eritrea, Iraq, Italy, Libya, Nepal, Nicaragua, Palestine, Rwanda, Serbia, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka, and Sudan. [28] Completed projects often result in the transition of Emergency-run hospitals to local health authorities.

Awards

In 2013, Open Heart , a film directed by Kief Davidson about eight Rwandan children who left their families to be operated on at the Salam Center, was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Film. [29]

On 30 November 2015, Gino Strada and EMERGENCY received the Right Livelihood Award in Stockholm, Sweden, "for his great humanity and his ability to offer medical and surgical assistance of excellence to the victims of war and injustice, continuing to denounce the causes of war without fear." [30]

The organization was awarded the Gold Medal for Public Health by the Italian government in 2016. [31]

In February 2017, Gino Strada and EMERGENCY were awarded the Sunhak Peace Prize in Seoul, South Korea, for treating Ebola in Sierra Leone.

In 2020, the organization won the European Economic and Social Committee's Civil Solidarity Prize for its international response to the Covid-19 pandemic, and specifically for its field hospital in Bergamo, Italy. [32]

Books

In Italian

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Médecins Sans Frontières</span> International humanitarian medical non-governmental organisation

Médecins Sans Frontières, also known as Doctors Without Borders, is a charity that provides humanitarian medical care. It is a non-governmental organisation (NGO) of French origin known for its projects in conflict zones and in countries affected by endemic diseases. The organisation provides care for diabetes, drug-resistant infections, HIV/AIDS, hepatitis C, tropical and neglected diseases, tuberculosis, vaccines and COVID-19. In 2019, the charity was active in 70 countries with over 35,000 personnel; mostly local doctors, nurses and other medical professionals, logistical experts, water and sanitation engineers, and administrators. Private donors provide about 90% of the organisation's funding, while corporate donations provide the rest, giving MSF an annual budget of approximately US$1.63 billion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gino Strada</span> Italian physician and activist (1948–2021)

Gino Strada was an Italian war surgeon, human rights activist, peace activist, and founder of Emergency, a recognized international non-governmental organization.

Bayshore Medical Center, formerly known as Bayshore Community Hospital, is a 204-bed general medical and surgical hospital located on a 37-acre (15 ha) campus at 727 North Beers Street, in Holmdel Township, New Jersey, United States, near the Raritan Bayshore. Its services include cardiac catheterization, diagnostic Imaging, medical/surgical, behavioral health, emergency, laboratory and transitional care.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center</span> Hospital in Maryland USA, founded 1979

Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center is a 266-licensed bed acute care facility located in Rockville, Maryland. Shady Grove Medical Center provides a range of health services to the community such as high-risk obstetrical care, cardiac and vascular care, oncology services, orthopedic care, surgical services and pediatric care. Opened in 1979 as Shady Grove Adventist Hospital, Shady Grove Medical Center operates as part of Adventist HealthCare, a health-care delivery system that includes hospitals, home health agencies and other health-care services. Adventist HealthCare is headquartered in Gaithersburg, Maryland.

Mayo Hospital is one of the oldest and biggest hospitals in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. King Edward Medical University, one of the oldest and most prestigious medical institutions in South Asia, is attached to Mayo Hospital. Mayo Hospital is located in the heart of Old Lahore, and provides free treatment to almost all admitted patients as part of a government policy. It also has many different ward's mainly centered around the Syed A route location.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Missouri Health Care</span>

University of Missouri Health Care is an American academic health system located in Columbia, Missouri. It's owned by the University of Missouri System. University of Missouri Health System includes five hospitals: University Hospital, Ellis Fischel Cancer Center, Missouri Orthopedic Institute and University of Missouri Women's and Children's Hospital — all of which are located in Columbia. It's affiliated with Capital Region Medical Center in Jefferson City, Missouri. It also includes more than 60 primary and specialty-care clinics and the University Physicians medical group.

Providence Mission Hospital is a 523-bed acute care regional medical center in Orange County, California with two campuses - one in Mission Viejo, and the second in Laguna Beach. The hospital has designated adult and pediatric Level II Trauma centers in the state of California. Mission Hospital provides cardiovascular, neuroscience and spine, orthopedics, cancer care, women's services, mental health, wellness and a variety of other specialty services. Mission Hospital in Laguna Beach (MHLB) provides South Orange County coastal communities with 24-hour emergency and intensive care as well as medical-surgical/telemetry services, orthopedics and also general and GI surgery. CHOC Children's at Mission Hospital is a 48-bed facility that is the area's only dedicated pediatric hospital. Mission Hospital is one of only 3 Hospitals in Orange County rated as a Regional Trauma Center.

St. Cloud Hospital is a hospital in St. Cloud, Minnesota, United States. It is a Catholic-affiliated, not-for-profit institution and part of CentraCare Health. The hospital has more than 9,000 employees, 400 physicians and 1,200 volunteers. It serves 690,000 people in a 12-county area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Iowa Children's Hospital</span> Hospital in Iowa, United States

University of Iowa Stead Family Children's Hospital formerly University of Iowa Children's Hospital and Children's Hospital of Iowa is a pediatric acute care academic children's hospital located in Iowa City, Iowa. The hospital was founded in 1919 and its current facility, opened in 2017, overlooks the university's football home, Kinnick Stadium. The hospital has 190 inpatient pediatric beds and is affiliated with the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine. The hospital provides comprehensive pediatric specialties and subspecialties to pediatric patients aged 0–21 throughout Iowa and is one of the only children's hospitals in the region and state. University of Iowa Stead Family Children's Hospital also features the only ACS verified Level 1 Pediatric Trauma Center in the state.

MultiCare Health System's Tacoma General Hospital is the largest hospital in Tacoma, Washington. It is a level II trauma center with 437 beds and the second-largest obstetrical care center in the state of Washington. Tacoma General began serving patients in 1882. The hospital is owned and operated by MultiCare Health System, a Tacoma-based not-for-profit integrated health organization.

IsraAID is an Israel-based non-governmental organization that responds to emergencies all over the world with targeted humanitarian help. IsraAID was founded by Shachar Zahavi and Mully Dor. This includes disaster relief, from search and rescue to rebuilding communities and schools, to providing aid packages, medical assistance, and post-psychotrauma care. IsraAID has also been involved in emergency response and international development projects in more than 60 countries, with focuses on Water, Sanitation & Hygiene, public health and medical care education, and mental health and protection.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nemours Children's Hospital, Delaware</span> Hospital in Delaware, United States

Nemours Children's Hospital, Delaware is a pediatric hospital located in Wilmington, Delaware. It is operated by the Nemours Foundation, a non-profit organization created through the last will and testament of philanthropist Alfred I. du Pont by his widow Jessie Ball duPont in 1936, and dedicated to improving children's health. Historically, it was referred to as the A. I. duPont Institute for Crippled Children or more simply, the duPont Institute and provides pediatric specialties and subspecialties to infants, children, teens, and young adults up to age 21.

INTERSOS is an international humanitarian organization, based in Italy, which intervenes in emergencies and crises to bring immediate aid to people whose lives are threatened by conflict, violence, extreme poverty, and natural or artificial disasters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital</span> Hospital in California, United States

UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital is a children's hospital system in San Francisco and Oakland, California, affiliated to the University of California, San Francisco. The hospital is a quaternary research and teaching hospital, and is the largest public recipient of NIH funding worldwide for 17 consecutive years, with $789,196,651 in total funding for FY 2023. A quaternary care hospital is the highest designation for facilities that can treat the most complex and specialized conditions. It has three campuses: the Parnassus Heights Campus, the Mount Zion Campus, and the Mission Bay Campus, and three UCSF Affiliates: the UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland, the Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, as well as the San Francisco VA Medical Center. The research campus within the Mission Bay Campus has over one million GSF of research space, in addition to the over one million GSF hospital complex, comprising the Benioff Children's Hospital, Betty Irene Moore Women's Hospital, Gateway Medical Building, and the UCSF Bakar Precision Cancer Medicine Building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emergency medical services in Russia</span> Nationwide ambulance service of Russia

Emergency medical services in Russia is a type of medical assistance provided to citizens in cases of accident, illnesses, injuries, poisonings, and other conditions requiring urgent medical intervention. These services are typically provided by a city or regional government, public emergency hospital, or the Disaster Medical Service. The emergency number for dialing an ambulance in Russia is 03 or 103, the generic European 112 can be use in some areas. 03 is called by landlines only while 103 and 112 can be called from mobile phones.

Israeli foreign aid relates to the development assistance and humanitarian aid provided by Israel to foreign countries. Israel provides assistance to developing countries to alleviate and solve economic and social problems through its international cooperation program of technical assistance, based on its own recent and ongoing experience in developing human and material resources. Israel's Agency for International Development Cooperation, established as an agency of the Israeli Foreign Ministry in 1958 and known by its Hebrew acronym, MASHAV, is the primary vehicle for providing this aid.

The Salam Centre for Cardiac Surgery is a 63-bed cardiac surgery hospital located on the outskirts of Khartoum, Sudan. The private hospital is operated by Emergency, a humanitarian non-governmental organization, and provides all medical care free of charge. It serves over 50,000 patients every year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Entebbe Children's Surgical Hospital</span> Pediatric hospital in Uganda

Entebbe Children's Surgical Hospital (ECSH) is a specialized children's pediatric surgery hospital in Uganda. It is a hospital, owned and operated by Emergency, an international NGO that offers "free medical treatment to the victims of war, poverty and landmines".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Teresa Sarti Strada</span> Italian teacher, pacifist and philanthropist

Teresa Sarti Strada, née Teresa Sarti was an Italian teacher, pacifist and philanthropist who, together with her husband Gino Strada, founded Emergency, an NGO dedicated to providing free medical treatment to the victims of war, poverty and land mines. She was the organization's first president.

References

  1. 1 2 "Who we are- The Organization". en.emergency.it. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
  2. ↑ "EMERGENCY: Medicine and Human Rights since 1994 Our history. From our first project in Rwanda to treating over 11 million patients". en.emergency.it. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
  3. ↑ "About Us- What we do- Our Facilities". emergencyuk.org. 16 April 2018.
  4. ↑ "Report 2017" (PDF). en.emergency.it.
  5. ↑ "Where we work - Afghanistan - Lashkar-gah". emergencyuk.org. 27 April 2018.
  6. ↑ "Where we work - Afghanistan". emergencyuk.org. 21 April 2018.
  7. ↑ "Strengthening of EMERGENCY Surgical Activity in Afghanistan". www.nandoandelsaperettifoundation.org. Retrieved 2021-08-15.
  8. ↑ "Cardiological support in Eritrea". EMERGENCY. Retrieved 2023-02-16.
  9. ↑ "Where we work - Italy". emergencyuk.org. 21 April 2018.
  10. ↑ "The home front: How international aid workers are fighting COVID-19 in Italy". www.thenewhumanitarian.org. 31 March 2020. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
  11. ↑ Povoledo, Elisabetta; Tribune, International Herald (2004-08-14). "Caring for victims, war zone by war zone". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2023-02-15.
  12. ↑ "Where we work - Iraq - Erbil Surgical Centre". emergencyuk.org. Archived from the original on 2017-08-23. Retrieved 2017-08-23.
  13. ↑ "Iraq Victim Assistance". www.the-monitor.org. 18 July 2018. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
  14. ↑ "LIFE SUPPORT: Search and Rescue in the Mediterranean Sea". EMERGENCY. Retrieved 2022-12-14.
  15. ↑ "Converted OSV Placed into Service as Migrant Rescue Ship". The Maritime Executive. Retrieved 2023-01-19.
  16. ↑ "Where we work - Sierra Leone". emergencyuk.org. 21 April 2018.
  17. ↑ "Ebola in Sierra Leone: In Freetown public hospitals have been brought to their knees with only Emergency NGO health facilities fully functional". reliefweb.int. 22 August 2014. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
  18. ↑ Administrator, TAMassociati (2013-09-09). "TAMassociati wins the Aga Khan Award for Architecture with the Emergency ngo Salam Centre in Sudan". TAMassociati. Retrieved 2023-01-20.
  19. ↑ "Salam Centre for Cardiac Surgery / Studio Tam associati". ArchDaily. 2009-04-08. Retrieved 2023-01-20.
  20. ↑ "Salam Cardiac Surgery Centre - AKDN". the.akdn. Retrieved 2023-01-20.
  21. 1 2 "Mapei with Renzo Piano and Emergency in Uganda". www.mapei.com. Retrieved 2023-01-20.
  22. ↑ "Mayo Paediatric Centre". www.emergency.it. 14 May 2018. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  23. ↑ "Port Sudan Paediatric Centre". www.emergency.it. 14 May 2018. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  24. ↑ "Italian Aid Worker Kidnapped in Darfur, Foreign Ministry Says". Bloomberg.com. 2011-08-15. Retrieved 2023-01-20.
  25. ↑ "Nyala Paediatric Centre". EMERGENCY. Retrieved 2023-01-20.
  26. ↑ Harrington, Grainne (2022-05-13). "Inside the 'scandalously beautiful' children's hospital designed by The Shard's architect". The Telegraph. ISSN   0307-1235 . Retrieved 2023-01-20.
  27. ↑ "Museveni Commissions Shs117 Billion Surgical Hospital | The Kampala Post". kampalapost.com. Retrieved 2023-01-20.
  28. ↑ "Completed Projects | EMERGENCY UK". 2021-02-23. Retrieved 2023-02-16.
  29. ↑ "2013 | Oscars.org | Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences". www.oscars.org. Retrieved 2023-01-25.
  30. ↑ "Gino Strada / EMERGENCY The Right Livelihood Award". www.rightlivelihoodaward.org. Retrieved 2017-08-24.
  31. ↑ "Anche noi abbiamo vinto un oro". www.emergency.it. 26 October 2016.
  32. ↑ "EMERGENCY WINS EESC CIVIL SOLIDARITY PRIZE FOR ITS CROSS-BORDER BATTLE WITH THE PANDEMIC". European Economic and Social Committee. 2021-03-14. Retrieved 2023-01-26.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.