Strategic directions to integrate emergency care services into primary health care in the South-East Asia Region

Overview

Emergency care interventions are both effective and cost-effective and integrated
emergency care delivery can save lives and maximize impact, across the health
system. Well-designed emergency care facilitates the timely recognition,
treatment and, when needed, the continued treatment of acutely ill people, at the
appropriate level of the health system. Millions of deaths and long-term disabilities
from injuries, infections, mental disorders and other emergency conditions could
be prevented each year, if effective emergency care services are available and
patients reach them in time.
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has further exposed the challenges that
emergency care systems of the Member States of the Region face, in the delivery
of integrated emergency care and the deficiencies in their response preparedness.
This document provides the strategic directions to integrate emergency care
services into primary health care so as to address the challenges being faced as
well as some of the additional deficiencies noted during COVID-19 pandemic.