In 1988, a team of Manchester clinicians, led by UK-Med’s founded Professor Tony Redmond OBE, went to Armenia in aid of those who had been hit by a devastating earthquake.
Thirty years later, we are still answering calls for help. Our register has hundreds of NHS medics who are rigorously trained for emergencies. Along with our global network of health professionals, we’re on-call to get to disaster zones at 24 hours’ notice.
Cyclone Idai was one of the worst tropical cyclones on record to ever affect Africa.
When the cyclone struck in March 2014, millions lost their homes and livelihoods, with over 1,000 people tragically losing their lives. UK-Med supported the WHO to co-ordinate 1,200 cholera vaccinators in 300 sites to reach more than 800,000 people in four high-risk districts – in just 6 days.
In 2017, a million Rohingya Muslims were forced to flee their homes in Myanmar.
Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh is home to the world’s largest refugee camp. In 2018, we helped respond to an outbreak of diphtheria that spread through the camp, and then again in 2020 for coronavirus, where we helped set up COVID-19 treatment centres and assisted healthcare workers with medical issues in the camp. The team even helped to deliver four babies, including Rashada, a refugee who came to the COVID-19 clinic after a relative tested positive for coronavirus.
The coronavirus pandemic has been an unprecedented global emergency.
The outbreak has taken lives, separated families, and devastated communities. The impacts of the pandemic have been felt across the world. In 2020 alone, we responded to calls for assistance in 14 countries. Our teams have been saving lives, but also helping to build resilient health systems that are better able to respond to emergencies in the future.