Imagine that you are seriously hurt—maybe even dying. You want to call for help, but there is no emergency number in your area—who do you call?

You need to get to a place where you can get care, but there is no one trained to transport you. Even if you reach a clinic or hospital, the facility may be overwhelmed, unprepared, and poorly stocked. You need care quickly or you could die—how is the provider to find you in a crowd of patients?

In many parts of the world, you don’t have to imagine—that is the reality of emergency care.

WHO & UCSF Taking Action

The World Health Organization (WHO) is seeking to improve access to emergency and trauma care around the world, and to create life-saving systems, standards, and tools that can be adapted and applied in any situation.

The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) WHO Collaborating Centre for Emergency, Critical and Operative Care is a part of that effort.