WHO Egypt launches a new national training-of-trainers programme on mass casualty management

The World Health Organization (WHO), with funding from the Government of the United Kingdom, launched Egypt's second national training-of-trainers (ToT) programme on mass casualty management (MCM) for hospital emergency units.

The initiative, involving WHO's 3 levels - headquarters, the Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean and the Egypt Country Office - is part of WHO Egypt's Health Emergencies Programme and aims to enhance emergency preparedness while strengthening the long-term resilience of the Egyptian health care system. The ToT certified 16 national instructors who were immediately deployed to train 60 health care professionals from 6 hospitals in Greater Cairo and Ismailia.

The ToT follows a blended learning approach, combining digital modules delivered through the WHO Academy with in-person, hands-on sessions. The curriculum covers key principles of hospital-based planning and response, including the organization of triage and treatment zones, emergency responder roles, activation protocols and the use of action cards and checklists. Over the 2-day course, participants conducted tabletop exercises, refined their hospital MCM plans and presented analyses of real-world operational challenges.