Building regional health security with KDRT

23 Sep 2024

Written by Meredith Neilson and Carla Yeung

In a significant step toward enhancing regional collaboration and disaster preparedness, the National Critical Care and Trauma Response Centre (NCCTRC) recently hosted a delegation from South Korea. Twelve members of the Korean Disaster Relief Team (KDRT) and Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) teams visited the NCCTRC to observe an AUSMAT Team Member (TM) course, an essential component of AUSMAT deployment preparation.

KDRT, the official overseas emergency relief team of the South Korean government, is dedicated to mitigating damage, rescuing lives, and providing medical relief assistance in disaster-stricken areas. KOICA, acting as the KDRT secretariat, ensures the team’s readiness by offering capacity-building training for KDRT members and maintaining deployment-ready equipment.

Over the years, NCCTRC’s Director of Education, Abi Trewin has worked closely with KDRT as their World Health Organisation (WHO) Emergency Medical Team (EMT) mentor. Her guidance was instrumental in helping KDRT achieve global verification as an EMT Type 1 Fixed team in 2022. Highlighting the importance of strong partnerships, Abi noted, "Building strong ties with KDRT is crucial for AUSMAT and the NCCTRC, as we’re likely to respond to the same disasters. Disasters aren’t the time to exchange business cards—we need to establish relationships beforehand, strengthen our capabilities, and learn from each other to ensure we operate efficiently when deployed."

During their visit, the South Korean teams participated in various scenario exercises as part of the AUSMAT TMs course, designed to simulate real-world health emergencies. This hands-on approach not only provided valuable insights into AUSMAT’s training methodologies but enabled a rich exchange of knowledge and experience between the two countries. The visit promoted mutual learning, with NCCTRC and AUSMAT members also gaining a deeper understanding of KDRT’s approach to managing health disasters and emergencies.

The NCCTRC actively supports delegation visits like these as they play a crucial role in strengthening partnerships across the Asia-Pacific region and enhancing health security. By fostering close relationships with health emergency teams, the NCCTRC is better positioned to respond swiftly and effectively should a disaster or health emergency unfold and require AUSMAT assistance. This ensures a coordinated and seamless collaboration with affected countries’ Ministries of Health and their EMTs. The NCCTRC looks forward to further collaboration with KDRT and other regional partners, building on the strong foundation established during this visit.