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| Formation | 1994; 31 years ago (1994) |
|---|---|
| Founder | Gino Strada |
| Type | International medical NGO |
| Headquarters | Milan, Italy |
| Location | |
President | Rossella Miccio |
| Website | en.emergency.it |
Emergency (stylized asEMERGENCY inall caps) is ahumanitarianNGO that provides free medical treatment to the victims ofwar,poverty, andlandmines. It was founded in 1994.Gino Strada, one of the organization's co-founders, served as EMERGENCY's Executive Director.[1] It operates on the premise that access to high-quality healthcare is a fundamentalhuman right.[2]
The organization has treated over 12 million patients since its inception, and has active operations inAfghanistan,Eritrea,Iraq,Italy,Sierra Leone,Sudan, andUganda.
Projects usually involve the construction and operation of permanent hospitals, as well as training of local staff. The original aim was to bring free, high-quality medical assistance to war victims. Over time, their projects assumed a broader view, now providing specialist and ongoing medical care in locations that require these facilities and expertise.
EMERGENCY was recognized as a non-profit organization in 1998, and received jurisdictional approval as a non-governmental organization in 1999. It has been an official partner of the United NationsDepartment of Public Information since 2006, and a special consultant for theUnited Nations Economic and Social Council since 2015.[1]
EMERGENCY begins operations in a specific region or country based on the need for specialized medical assistance, and the absence of similar humanitarian projects in that country. Once a project is initiated, specialized international personnel construct and operate high-quality facilities, as well as first aid posts, and health centers for basic medical assistance. The organization also deals with endemic diseases such as polio and malaria and provides basic health care in these circumstances, as well as establishing social development projects, not only in war-torn areas, but also in high poverty regions. Since 2005, it has worked in Italy to provide healthcare to marginalized groups and communities.
The organization builds and manages:
The aim of its projects is to transfer long-term project management to local healthcare authorities, as long as high-quality and free assistance are guaranteed. The organization has employed thousands of local staff in the countries they operate to cover both medical and non-medical positions. The organization provides both theoretical and practical training and considers this an integral part of its programs.[4]
EMERGENCY has offices and affiliates in Belgium, Switzerland, the UK and the USA.
The organization has been working inAfghanistan since 1999, where it has treated more than 8 million patients. EMERGENCY runs a Surgical Center for victims of war andlandmines inKabul, the capital. It runs a Surgical Center inLashkar-Gah;[5] the only free, specialized facility in theHelmand Province and in the remote areas, surrounding it with first aid posts. It operates two centers in the district of Anabah,Panjshir Valley: a medical-surgical center opened in 1999 and a maternity center opened in 2003. As with its other projects, it has established a network of First Aid Posts and Primary Health Clinics connected to the center.[6][7]
Emergency began work inEritrea in 2019, providing support for the cardiac clinics at the Orotta Medical Surgical National Referral Hospital inAsmara.[8] The hospital is also linked to Emergency'sSalam Centre for Cardiac Surgery through a regional cardiac surgery referral program.
In September 2025,Life Support was dispatched to support theGlobal Sumud Flotilla trying to break theblockade of the Gaza Strip and deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza, which is undergoingfamine during the ongoingwar.[9]
The organization has been working with migrants,refugees and disadvantaged individuals in Italy since 2005. Through a network of outpatient clinics (located inPalermo,Polistena,Marghera,Castel Volturno,Naples), it has provided over 210,000 consultations. It also runs Mobile Clinics across Italy, which are intended to provide healthcare in places were access to public facilities is limited, including farming areas, refugee and migrant reception centers, and Roma camps; they are housed in converted buses, minivans and lorries.[10] In 2020, during the COVID-19 crisis, Emergency assisted in building a field hospital in Bergamo.[11]
The organization also plays a strong advocacy role in Italy, and its lobbying is considered to have influenced the Italian Parliament's decision to ban the production, sale, and use of landmines in 1997.[12]
The organization has been established inIraq since 1995, primarily treating victims of landmines from the1981-1988 conflict. TheSulaimaniya Rehabilitation and Social Reintegration Center provides physiotherapy, the fitting of prostheses for amputees, and vocational training courses.
In 2017, it reestablished operations at the surgical center inErbil that it had handed over to local authorities in 2005. The decision was taken due to the hospital's proximity to theBattle for Mosul. Throughout the year, the organization provided free medical assistance to casualties of war . As the acute phase of fighting ended, the hospital was handed back to be run by local authorities, having performed 1,749 surgical operations during its intervention, mainly for bullet and shell injuries.[13][14]
In December 2022, EMERGENCY began maritimesearch and rescue (SAR) services in the Central Mediterranean with its shipLife Support. The ship operates between the Italian island ofLampedusa and the Libyan coast, providing aid and emergency medical assistance to migrants attempting to cross in unseaworthy vessels.[15]
EMERGENCY previously provided medical aid, cultural mediation and post-rescue assistance onboardMigrant Offshore Aid Station’s (MOAS) shipTopaz Responder in 2016, and onboardProactiva Open Arms’ shipOpen Arms between 2019 and 2022.[16]
playlistEmergency runs a Surgical Center in Goderich, near the capitalFreetown.
During theEbola crisis, staff were trained in containing the spread of the disease at their established surgical and pediatric center inGoderich. With the virus spreading rapidly, they opened an intensive care unit for Ebola patients - the only facility of its kind in Sierra Leone. As hospitals were overwhelmed, their center was the only surgical and pediatric center to remain open in the entire country.[17][18]
TheSalam Center for Cardiac Surgery inKhartoum serves over 50,000 patients every year.[19] The 63-bed facility was designed byStudio TAMassociati[20] and won theAga Khan Award for Architecture in 2013.[21] TheSalam Center was the first facility in theAfrican Network of Medical Excellence, a collaborative initiative with African health ministries to develop a better, more sustainable health system that addresses regional needs.[22]
The organization also runs a network of Pediatric Centers across the country: in Mayo, a suburb that evolved from a refugee camp on the outskirts of Khartoum, since December 2005,[23] inPort Sudan since 2011,[24] and inNyala. Activities in Nyala were suspended in 2011 after the kidnapping of an EMERGENCY worker inDarfur,[25] but resumed in 2020.[26]
TheChildren's Surgical Hospital in Entebbe is the second facility in the African Network of Medical Excellence, offering free pediatric surgery to children across the region.[22] When the 72-bed hospital was opened in 2021, it tripled the number of pediatric surgical beds available in Uganda.[27] The hospital was designedpro bono by architectRenzo Piano.[28]
Emergency has completed projects in Afghanistan,Algeria,Angola,Cambodia,Central African Republic, Eritrea, Iraq, Italy,Libya,Nepal,Nicaragua,Palestine, Rwanda,Serbia, Sierra Leone,Sri Lanka, and Sudan.[29] Completed projects often result in the transition of Emergency-run hospitals to local health authorities.
In 2013,Open Heart, a film directed byKief Davidson about eight Rwandan children who left their families to be operated on at theSalam Center, was nominated for theAcademy Award for Best Documentary Short Film.[30]
On 30 November 2015,Gino Strada and EMERGENCY received theRight Livelihood Award inStockholm, Sweden, "for his great humanity and his ability to offer medical and surgical assistance of excellence to the victims of war and injustice, continuing to denounce the causes of war without fear."[31]
The organization was awarded theGold Medal for Public Health by the Italian government in 2016.[32]
In February 2017, Gino Strada and EMERGENCY were awarded theSunhak Peace Prize inSeoul, South Korea, for treatingEbola inSierra Leone.
In 2020, the organization won theEuropean Economic and Social Committee's Civil Solidarity Prize for its international response to theCOVID-19 pandemic, and specifically for its field hospital inBergamo, Italy.[33]
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