Celebrating the women on the front line of emergency response

Vahide Candan is a Turkish intensive care nurse who volunteers with the country’s National Medical Rescue Team (UMKE).

While treating injured patients arriving from Syria, Vahide realized how crucial medical intervention is, not only in hospital settings, but also at the scene where incidents first occur: “During that period, I felt a desire to be present in the field during people’s most critical moments.”

After the huge earthquake in Hatay in 2023, Vahide worked in emergency hospitals established by UMKE to offer uninterrupted delivery of health-care services. She still lives and works in the affected region.

“My message to young women is this: working in disaster and emergency response is a challenging but deeply meaningful journey. The presence of women in the field is not only a necessity, but also a great strength.”

Clare Jefferys is a British emergency medicine consultant who works with the UK-Med EMT.

“I’ve had 3 deployments to Gaza’s Al Mawasi field hospital. It is staffed by a relatively small team of experienced doctors, but none of them are emergency medicine specialists, so I provide that focus and training. It could be practising point-of-care ultrasound skills or doing practical skills like chest drain insertion.”

Clare describes the work as a privilege: “If you want to do this kind of work, you leave your family for weeks at a time, but let’s not pretend that this is totally altruistic – I have probably learned far more than I have imparted to my colleagues in these jobs and deployments.”

Gynaecologist Andrea Manzano Roldan deployed with the Spanish Technical Aid Response Team (START) to Türkiye (2022) and Jamaica (2025).

Andrea finds deep purpose in disaster relief despite the high pressure and harsh conditions. “For me, being able to help someone vulnerable in an emergency gives meaning to my work. It excites me to be able to give a ray of light to someone who has experienced a terrible situation. Each deployment is a life lesson that transforms me a little.” In challenging situations, she relies on her close-knit team: “During deployments, emotions run high at times and exhaustion can take its toll. That is when the solidarity and support among colleagues truly shine. I feel very proud to be a part of the START team.”

Akcholpon Khumaeva works with the Republic of Kyrgyzstan’s Disaster Medicine Service. She is also a neurologist.

“In 2024, there were severe mudflows throughout the country, which led to human casualties, destruction of infrastructure and significant material damage,” says Akcholpon.

During deployments, her team manages triage, field care and casualty evacuation, with the focus strictly on professional duty rather than gender. The Service is seeking accreditation as an EMT, granting access to experience sharing, state-of-the-art protocols and joint exercises, strengthening specialist training and improving the quality of emergency response.

“For our part, we are ready to contribute our practical experience in working in emergency situations and clinical expertise, and to work according to international standards.”

Sigrun Aase Holen, an operating theatre nurse from Norway, has deployed 15 times with the Red Cross and the Norwegian EMT.

Sigrun has offered her skills during international emergencies ranging from disease outbreaks to earthquakes. 

“On my first mission, a midwife came to me and said, ‘You have to know that you can’t save the world, but if you can save just one person, that means a lot.’”

A mother of 2, she waited until her children were in their teens before her first international mission at the age of 48: “My advice to other women – you don’t have to rush at this career.”

Over the years, she’s seen the impact of WHO’s EMT Initiative and the Regional Action Plan 2030, which has transformed EMT care quality standards and coordination.

“I’ve been so lucky in my life. This work gives back something. We can share our knowledge and help each other.”

Yuliia Koshtovska is an emergency medicine physician with the Lviv Regional Emergency Medical Service’s medical evacuation team.

Since the start of the war, the Ministry of Health of Ukraine has been leading the implementation of the medical evacuation programme, in cooperation with the European Union and partner governments, and with technical and operational support from WHO. The programme provides access to specialized treatment and rehabilitation abroad for Ukrainians who need medical care that is unavailable or limited in Ukraine due to the war. To date, more than 6400 Ukrainians have received treatment in medical facilities across 33 countries worldwide.

“Our patients give us strength and motivation,” says Yuliia. “Seeing what they have been through and the condition they are in, yet how they continue to believe, remain strong and keep fighting, is incredibly powerful.” 

Alessia Mugani Poggesi is a senior officer in Tuscany’s Civil Protection Department.

Working in regional civil protection since the age of 21, Alessia has responded to devastating earthquakes and floods, and most recently coordinated the medical reception of paediatric patients from Gaza to Italy. “I’m not a doctor, I’m not a firefighter, but I’m an expert in managing all these activities. Sometimes coordination is one of the most challenging aspects of this job.”

She now leads the EMT2 Toscana Project, working to certify the region’s mobile unit as a WHO-standard Type 2 EMT. “As part of the ongoing classification, WHO has provided many opportunities to link with different EMTs. It’s an important aspect that I really appreciate.”