On 7 and 8 November 2023, the team of the German National Focal Point for Emergency Medical Teams (EMT NFP), based in the RKI unit ZIG 3, hosted the annual EMT National Stakeholder Meeting in Berlin. The meeting is the most important exchange forum for German EMTs with each other, with their network partners and with the responsible federal ministries in Germany. In addition to the Federal Ministry of Health (BMG), these are primarily the Federal Foreign Office (AA) and the Federal Ministry of the Interior and Homeland (BMI) with the subordinate Federal Office of Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance (BBK).

Talks were also held via video conference with representatives from the EURO Regional Office and the EMT Secretariat of the World Health Organization (WHO) which leads the global EMT initiative. The German EMT organisations taking part were Arbeiter-Samariter-Bund, Cadus, humedica, I.S.A.R. Germany, Johanniter, Malteser International, Medizinisches Katastrophen-Hilfswerk and the network partners Pharmacists without Borders and Samaritans Austria.

The focus was on current deployment scenarios such as possible emergency medical aid measures by German EMTs in the context of the present situation in Gaza, as well as overarching strategic and operational topics. The intensification of operational cooperation between the German EMT organisations should be emphasised here. This includes, for example, cooperation in the procurement of equipment or medication, joint training and exercise activities or the planning of joint deployments in which EMT experts from different EMT organisations deploy as a mixed team. An extensive workshop on joint deployments was part of the Stakeholder Meeting, prepared by members of the EMT NFP team based at the RKI in Berlin together with the EMTs. Key issues that were discussed included the interoperability between the individual technical EMT modules (medical, WASH, accommodation, logistics, etc.), the arrangement of staff responsibilities and the deployment preparation mechanism for mixed teams and insurance aspects.

Besides current operational topics, the discussions with the federal ministries focussed on a more reliable EMT deployment funding scheme for medical NGOs from the German federal government, mechanisms to improve the recognition of and the support for the volunteering EMT experts as well as the participation of German EMTs in the European Union's Civil Protection Mechanism. Another important topic for discussion concerned the interoperability between EMTs and Rapid Response Mobile Labs (RRML), through potential joint deployments of those rapid surge capacities. This exchange point hosted laboratory experts from the RKI unit ZIG 4 (Public Health Laboratory Support) and the WHO Regional Office for Europe (WHO EURO). The latter is currently leading a process to finalise minimum operational standards for RRMLs. EMTs and RRMLs can complement each other’s capacities, both in major outbreaks of communicable diseases and in disaster operations with limited outbreak scenarios.

The National Focal Point team for the German EMTs at RKI’s Centre for International Health Protection plays an important supporting and liaising role in all of these multi-stakeholder consultations. The very open and constructive discussions led to a number of concrete results and next steps that will further deepen cooperation between the German EMTs during deployments and in the periods in between.