Grab and go: enabling Vanuatu's national emergency medical team to master emergency response logistics

Mr Bong George Masseng, Projects and Aid Coordination Officer, Ministry of Health, Vanuatu and member of the Vanuatu Medical Assistance Team (VanMAT) — Vanuatu’s national Emergency Medical Team (EMT) — shares his experience participating in a WHO-led EMT logistics training and its value to his work. 

 _{Members of Vanuatu's national emergency medical team (VanMAT) set up an EMT clinic during a WHO-led EMT logistics training.}

"While most medical training takes place in hospitals or clinical settings, our recent Emergency Medical Team (EMT) workshop took place in the field, working directly with the medical and logistical equipment that VanMAT will use to set up field clinics to save lives in disasters, outbreaks or other emergencies. 

The EMT logistics field workshop was designed to strengthen VanMAT’s capacity to rapidly deploy a Type 1 Mobile EMT. 

In the past, VanMAT team member trainings included a significant focus on clinical operations. This training was purely focused on logistics, including the equipment, storage and transportation that VanMAT requires to deploy a self-sufficient medical team anywhere in our island country. Supported by Vanuatu’s Ministry of Health and WHO, eight of us spent seven days reviewing and organizing VanMAT’s logistics systems to improve how quickly we can deploy and initiate clinical services after an emergency."

Members of Vanuatu's national emergency medical team (VanMAT) participate in a WHO-led EMT logistics training.

"Our training included updating inventory for a newly retrofitted shipping container. What used to be just a metal box is now a climate-controlled EMT storage facility. Days were spent preparing medical and non-medical equipment to allow for rapid deployment to some of the most challenging conditions, ensuring that our response is timely and efficient. We need to be able to “grab and go”, with confidence that we’ll have the right supplies, in the right quantities, and that they can be transported using the small aircraft and seacraft that we rely on here in Vanuatu."

Members of Vanuatu's national emergency medical team (VanMAT) sit inside a newly retrofitted shipping container.

"We didn’t just talk about life-saving emergency response equipment; we sorted, labelled and stacked it. We did drills to practice setting up and taking down the heavy duty tents we use when we deploy. We mapped out how best to place the field clinic tents and equipment on a particular site to ensure patient flow was logical and dignified. These efforts ensure every EMT’s goal of self-sufficiency – making sure that we never become a burden on the communities we deploy to support." 

Members of Vanuatu's national emergency medical team (VanMAT) draw out an EMT clinic set up during a WHO-led EMT logistics training.

"The training covered essential operational disciplines such as team communication, radio protocols, deployment checklists, logistics network mapping, site and camp planning, and the use of dynamic tools for forecasting food, fuel, and water needs. Training exercises drove home the critical message that small planning decisions can have major operational impacts. 

The highlight was a simulation of a major disaster: a Category 4 cyclone. We prepared response cargo, calculated weight limits for transport, and exercised the setup and demobilization of an EMT clinic and base of operations. We facilitated the clinical and public health priorities through well-planned logistics during an emergency."

Emergency Medical Team (EMT) clinic set up during a simulation exercise in Vanuatu.

"Handling each item increased our confidence in locating and using equipment under pressure. We learned how to trust our systems and each other. When we deploy, conditions will be challenging, so we’re ready to operate in the dark or in a storm, making sure our equipment, our team and our patients stay safe.  

Vanuatu is one of the most disaster-prone nations on earth. We can’t stop the storms from coming, but after this week, I know that when the situation arrives, VanMAT is ready to move faster and more effectively than ever before!"

WHO and VanMAT are grateful for support received from the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) that enables EMT development and coordination work in Vanuatu and across the Pacific. 

About VanMAT 

Vanuatu’s Ministry of Health established VanMAT in 2017 with technical and operational support from the World Health Organization, and with funding and technical support from the Governments of Australia and New Zealand. VanMAT was established within Vanuatu’s MoH, with coordination linkages to Vanuatu's NDMO and deploys regularly in response to emergencies. In 2025 VanMAT deployed personnel in response to the December 2024 Earthquake and the 2025 Pertussis outbreak.