The Spanish Technical Aid Response Team (START) is a team of public health professionals and support personnel that is prepared to deploy within 72 hours to a humanitarian crisis anywhere in the world.[1][2][3] The team is also known as the Red Vests due to the red vests worn by its members while in the field.[3][4]
Organized by the Humanitarian Action Office of the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), START was certified as a specialized team by the World Health Organization (WHO) on 31 May 2018 as part of its Emergency Medical Team (EMT) initiative.[2][3][5] START is classified as an EMT II team, able to provide primary care as well as surgical support and hospitalization.[5]
START was first deployed in 2019 to Dondo, Mozambique, in response to the humanitarian emergency caused by Cyclone Idai.[1][4][6] In Mozambique, the team deployed a field hospital about the size of a football pitch.[4]
The team was also part of the Spanish humanitarian response to the unplanned explosions at a munitions site in Bata, Equatorial Guinea in early 2021.[7]
References
- 1 2 "Humanitarian Action". archive.ph. 2021-03-17. Retrieved 2022-06-11.
- 1 2 "Portal Web AECID (Inglés) Emergency response". archive.ph. 2021-03-17. Retrieved 2022-06-11.
- 1 2 3 "START Spanish Technical Aid Response Team: Equipo Médico de Respuesta…". archive.ph. 2021-03-17. Retrieved 2022-06-11.
- 1 2 3 "Crisis del coronavirus: Los 'chalecos rojos' combaten en casa". archive.ph. 2021-03-17. Retrieved 2022-06-11.
- 1 2 https://web.archive.org/web/20210317061539if_/https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/DP%2031_05%20START%20Equipo%20M%C3%A9dico%20de%20Emergencia%20Espa%C3%B1ol.pdf
- ↑ "La cooperación española atiende ya a los afectados por ciclón en Moza…". archive.ph. 2021-03-17. Retrieved 2022-06-11.
- ↑ "Equipos de España e Israel ayudan en Bata a los damnificados de la ex…". archive.ph. 2021-03-12. Retrieved 2022-06-11.
External links
- Emergency Medical Teams (World Health Organization)