World Health Assembly adopts a resolution on emergency and trauma care

Dar es Salaam. Delegates to the 72nd World Health Assembly have adopted a resolution on emergency and trauma care aimed at helping countries to ensure timely care for the acutely ill and injured, a statement released by the World Health Organization (WHO) says.

The Assembly took place on 20-28 May 2019 in Geneva, Switzerland, was attended by delegations from all WHO Member States including Tanzania to discuss a number of issues related to the  specific health agenda.

During this year’s Assembly, the Member States spoke in support of the resolution, which was tabled by the Governments of Ethiopia and Eswatini and co-sponsored by over 30 countries, a part of the WHO statement indicated.

This follows the revelation that more than half of deaths in low- and middle-income countries result from conditions that could be treated with pre-hospital and emergency care, including injuries; infections; acute exacerbations of cancer, diabetes and other non-communicable diseases; and complications of pregnancy.

In their remarks, the Member States praised the sponsoring countries for bringing attention to this area, committed to the recommended actions and requested near-term WHO support for specific activities, including training for all cadres of health workers, system- and facility-level assessments, implementing standards for essential equipment and processes at each level of the health system, and data collection and quality improvement. 

They also emphasized the importance of fully integrating emergency care into ongoing universal health coverage planning processes. The resolution further suggests that all Member States, regardless of available resources, can take steps towards strengthening their emergency care systems.

"No one should die for the lack of access to emergency care, an essential part of universal health coverage," said WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

Adding: "We have simple, affordable and proven interventions that save lives. All people around the world should have access to the timely, life-saving care they deserve.”

Recent studies have ranked components of emergency care as among the most cost-effective public health interventions. Strengthening prehospital care by training community-based providers and using staffed community ambulances has been estimated to cost less than US$ 100 per life saved and has been shown to reduce mortality by 25-50 per cent in some low- and middle-income country contexts.