Applying Emergency Medical Team Twinning in Support of Namibia’s EMT Roster
Emergency Medical Teams, as a surge capacity that responds to health emergencies, cannot function without an already trained roster, available to deploy when needed. That’s why an EMT Team Member induction training took place in Swakopmund(Namibia) in June 2025, in support of the Namibian EMT roster strengthening.
The Emergency Medical Teams (EMT) training took place from 24 to 27 June and was implemented as part of the EMT Twinning partnership between Johanniter EMT and the Ministry of Health and Social Services of Namibia. It was hosted and coordinated at the EMT National Focal Point team at Robert Koch Institute as part of GHPP. From different regions in Namibia, 28 participants with diverse medical backgrounds came together to share their expertise and to learn about the EMT Initiative of the World Health Organization (WHO). They became familiar with its meaning for National EMTs and received an overview of key EMT topics. Facilitators consisted of six members from the Namibian EMT secretariat who led the training, three members from German EMT Johanniter, and one from the RKI project team.
Integrating Twinning aspects in the sessions facilitated interactive mutual learning between the two EMT’s contexts and experiences. The Johanniter shared real-life examples of how EMT technical and operational areas are implemented in their internationally classified EMT. Whereas the Germany-based participants gained an understanding of how National EMTs, like the Namibian, adapt the EMT concept to their context and training structures.
After three days of interactive sessions, the week concluded with a simulation exercise (SIMEX) where participants experienced three real-life EMT scenarios focusing on community and stakeholder engagement during deployment as well as Triage.
Despite the winter season, all participants and facilitators were accommodated throughout the week in tents. While this arrangement was a way to experience a similar setup to the EMT deployment, it was also a sustainable resource utilization by procuring tent equipment that is now part of the Namibian EMT logistics capacity. This means they can be reused for future EMT trainings or mobilised for emergency deployment in the country.
After a week of EMT learning and exchange, the campsite was dismantled. Everyone headed home leaving the beautiful landscape of Namibia where desert meets the Atlantic Ocean, with clear take-aways: For many participants ‘I am now part of the Namibian EMT roster and ready to deploy’, and for twinning partners ‘we talk soon for our next step’.
