Emergencies: WHO Health emergency kits

WHO has standardized medicines and medical supplies needed in emergencies to allow swift, efficient and effective response to the need for medicines and medical supplies. This has led to the supply of standard, pre-packed kits that can be kept in readiness to meet priority health needs in emergency.

WHO uses standardized medical kits of different profiles. They are primarily intended for affected or displaced populations without medical facilities. They can also be used for initial supply of primary health care facilities where the normal system of provision has broken down.

The most common emergency health kits are:

Trauma Emergency and Surgery Kit (TESK 2019) 

• The TESK 2019 kit aims at providing drugs and health supplies meeting the needs of 50 patients requiring surgical care in emergency situations, (average of 2 operations per patient = 100 interventions).
• The kit is composed of several sets and each set can be requested as stand-alone.
• The TESK 2017, composed of multiple sets of surgical instruments, remains unchanged and is complementary to the TESK 2019.

SHW Travel kit 2020

• Composed of 3 modules: module 1: supplies, module 2: medicines, module 3: medicines for the field (mainly antibiotics) and a carry bag. Each module is supplied in a zipper bag.
• This kit is available from SHW services in HQ and Regional Offices. Please check the procedure for ordering in the Catalogue SHW Technical Note.

• Depending on how the different modules are combined, one can create a SAM kit or a paediatric kit or both.
• The MODULE, MEDICINES SAM, contains the same medicines as in the previous SAM kit basic and supplementary medicines modules.
• The SAM module: designed to treat 50 SAM /MC children,
• The PED modules: designed to serve a 10-beds paediatric ward for 3 months.
• Note that the oral medicines module could as well be used for OPD or mobile clinics.

Cholera 2020 laboratory kit and investigation kit

• Revision of the Cholera 2020 laboratory kit with the addition of a laboratory job-aid.
• Note that it still contains a cold chain part.
• No changes on the Cholera 2020 Investigation kit.