A new philanthropic partnership between Laerdal Global Health and the WHO Foundation will fund the World Health Organization (WHO) to expand acute care training for health workers in select African countries. The US $12.5 million commitment will support WHO's Basic Emergency Care (BEC) training in 400 hospitals across three African nations. This initiative aims to improve health systems and support health workers in delivering effective acute care.
The funding will also provide specially designed training kits for ongoing workplace-based training. The Basic Emergency Care program was developed by WHO in 2016. Tens of thousands of health workers have been trained in Basic Emergency Care across more than 60 countries since then.
The WHO Foundation and Laerdal Global Health have established a funding consortium, Lifeline: the Acute Care Action Fund. They are seeking to raise $25 million to bring the program to 1,000 hospitals in five or more countries. This expansion could potentially save an estimated 50,000 lives annually.