The World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday granted an international emergency medical team (EMT) from China the highest level within the WHO EMTs initiative, making China the top country with the most WHO-certified EMTs.

During the ongoing 71st World Health Assembly in Geneva, WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus hosted a brief ceremony of certification for China International Emergency Medical Team (Sichuan) at the UN Office in Geneva.

Consisting of 166 personnel, including 41 doctors and 65 nurses, the team is a partnership of several hospitals from China's southwest Sichuan Province. It's the first Chinese medical team to be verified as Type 3, the highest level in WHO's ETMs initiative, capable of treating 200 outpatients and performing 15 major surgical procedures and 30 minor surgical procedures per day.

At the ceremony, Dr. Tedros said he had planned to expand the WHO EMTs to include about 50,000 medical professionals in the next few years, and expects even more support from China. "Thank you, brothers!" he said in Chinese to the team members after the ceremony.

The team from Sichuan is the third Chinese EMT that has been certified by the WHO. Back in 2016 and 2017 respectively, two other EMTs from China's Shanghai and Guangdong were also granted the certification, making China the only country that has contributed three international EMTs to the WHO initiative which consists so far of 15 teams.

The WHO EMTs project was launched in July 2015 to quality-assure and peer-review global teams, in light of past shortcomings where medical personnel self-responded without necessarily right skill-set, training, supplies or equipment. It aims to help countries affected by disasters, outbreaks and emergencies to identify teams that are appropriately trained and equipped when they seek international medical assistance.

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