African health ministers have adopted a regional framework for emergency medical teams covering 2026–2030, with member states committing to establish at least one functional national emergency medical team in every country by 2030.
The framework was adopted at the Seventy-sixth session of the WHO Regional Committee for Africa. WHO says the approach is intended to move countries from temporary emergency arrangements toward nationally led, sustainably financed and quality-assured teams integrated into national response systems.
Emergency medical teams bring together clinical, public-health and operational professionals who can reinforce health services during outbreaks, disasters and other emergencies. WHO says countries will need governance structures, multidisciplinary rosters, rapid activation procedures, dedicated financing, standardized equipment and deployable logistics.
WHO reports that thirty member states have completed emergency-team awareness activities, more than 26 have advanced to structured training, and national teams have carried out more than 46 deployments. The organization says readiness remains uneven, with only seven countries demonstrating advanced operational readiness or alignment with WHO minimum standards.
Under the framework, countries are expected to strengthen governance and integration by 2028 and move toward operational, validated or classified teams by 2030.