In an emergency, healthcare workers need to respond quickly and confidently. However, frontline teams in many parts of the world have limited opportunities to practice managing these situations before they encounter them in real life.
Through the Buy One, Gift One program, healthcare organizations around the world are helping expand access to the World Health Organization's Basic Emergency Care (BEC) program and support one of WHO’s highest-priority opportunities to strengthen emergency care systems.
With every purchase of an Emergency Care Learning Lab through Laerdal Medical for use in a high-income country, another one is donated.
The donated Learning Labs are strategically allocated to partners working with ministries of health, training institutions, and the WHO Acute Care Action Network to support the scale-up of the WHO Basic Emergency Care program.
More than a donation, each Learning Lab helps support ongoing workplace-based training, skills practice, and locally led programs that strengthen emergency care over time.
Across 777 health facilities in Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, the largest coordinated implementation of the WHO Basic Emergency Care (BEC) program ever undertaken is now underway.
Through Buy One, Gift One, an Emergency Care Learning Lab has been donated to every participating facility to support ongoing workplace-based training and simulation.
The initiative is being implemented through close collaboration between the World Health Organization (WHO), the African Federation for Emergency Medicine (AFEM), national emergency medicine societies, Ministries of Health, and local training institutions.
The goal is to help save 50,000 additional lives every year.
Dr. Simon Tumusimee, Emergency Doctor at African Federation for Emergency Medicine (AFEM), shares how hands-on training helps healthcare workers build confidence and prepare for time-critical emergencies in East Africa.
Dr. Tsion Firew, Advisor to the Health Minister and practicing doctor at King Faisal Hospital, shares how the Emergency Care Learning Lab has helped make a difference in scaling Basic Emergency Care training in Rwanda.
Rob Mitchell, Program Lead for Emergency Care at RECCSSI, shares how the initial donation of 15 Emergency Care Learning Labs has helped scale Basic Emergency Care across the Pacific Islands, helping new facilitators take emergency care training back to their countries and communities.
The Emergency Care Learning Lab (ECLL) is a portable training kit designed to build the foundational life-saving skills of healthcare workers through hands-on practice. This practical package provides clear, step-by-step guidance on how to manage critical emergencies in low-resource settings.
The World Health Organization has identified emergency care as one of the highest-impact opportunities to reduce preventable death and disability worldwide. Through Buy One, Gift One, healthcare organizations help make this opportunity a reality.
