WHO strengthens emergency medical readiness on CBRN, burns, MEDEVAC in Oman

The World Health Organization (WHO) regional offices for the Eastern Mediterranean and Europe organised an integrated programme on CBRN incidents, burns and medical evacuation (MEDEVAC) in Oman from 26-30 September.

An article published by WHO on 6 October said that the programme brought together 25 participants from four countries in the Eastern Mediterranean Region – Jordan, Lebanon, Oman and Syria – alongside participants from Türkiye, Ukraine and Médecins Sans Frontières.

The programme was delivered by experts from WHO, international partners and collaborating institutions, with co-facilitation by national Omani experts and the European Centre for Emergency Medicine.

The initiative builds on WHO’s ongoing work to strengthen emergency medical teams' readiness and ensure that teams are better equipped to respond to high risk and complex emergencies. More specifially, the programme supports emergency medical teams and frontline responders to:

• strengthen their capacity to manage CBRN and burn casualties in complex and mass-casualty settings
• identify and prepare patients requiring MEDEVAC and connect frontline teams with MEDEVAC coordination mechanisms
• apply risk management approaches to safety, triage, decontamination, stabilisation, referral and transfer
• strengthen coordination and decision-making among clinical and response actors to support safe and timely patient movement.

"WHO and its partners have developed guidance and technical resources to support CBRN response, burns management and medical evacuation," WHO wrote. "Building on this work, the programme integrates these areas into a single curriculum for emergency medical teams, helping teams address the complex clinical, safety and logistical challenges that can arise during CBRN incidents, mass-casualty events and severe burn emergencies."

"Practical skills stations, group exercises and an immersive simulation allowed participants to apply these approaches in a realistic emergency scenario. The simulation brought together CBRN response, burns, mass-casualty management and medical evacuation, enabling participants to test coordination and decision-making under pressure and identify practical measures to strengthen preparedness."

The programme builds on WHO’s first integrated course on CBRN, burns, mass-casualty management and medical evacuation, delivered in June 2026. The activity is funded by the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation, with funds provided through the EMT Secretariat.