The African
Federation for Emergency Medicine
Emergencies occur everywhere, and each day they consume resources regardless of whether there
are systems capable of achieving good outcomes. (Kobusingye, Bulletin of the WHO)
Prioritizing an integrated approach to early resuscitation and stabilization has been shown to reduce the
morbidity of a range of medical, surgical, and obstetric conditions. The Disease Control Priorities Project
estimates that nearly half of deaths and over a third of disability in low- and middle-income countries could
be mitigated by proper emergency care (the provision of initial resuscitation, stabilization, and treatment to
acutely ill and injured patients, and delivery of those patients to the best available definitive care).
What is AFEM?
The African Federation for Emergency Medicine (AFEM), founded in November 2009, represents a broad
coalition of national societies, organizations, and individuals from over 40 countries. AFEM’s membership is
comprised of individuals with an interest in African emergency care, including non-clinicians, medics, nurses,
and physicians. Based on priorities identified in regional consensus meetings, AFEM provides data to inform
policy-making; offers open-access emergency care training curricula for nurses, midlevel providers, and
specialists; and has implemented regional trauma data collection with expansion to 5 countries this year.
What has AFEM done?
The African Conference on Emergency Medicine
(AfCEM)
The biannual African Conference on Emergency
Medicine is the only scientific conference that brings
together stakeholders in emergency care across
Africa. The first conference was held in November
2012 in Accra, Ghana, with over 450 delegates from
24 countries: the second was held in November 2014
at the United Nations Conference Centre in Addis
Ababa, Ethiopia, with over 500 delegates, and the
third will be in 2016 in Cairo, Egypt.
The African Journal of Emergency Medicine (AfJEM)
AfJEM, AFEM’s official journal, is an international,
peer-reviewed journal. AfJEM publishes original
research, reviews, case reports, reports of scientific
investigations, and commentary on topics of
importance to emergency care in Africa. The journal
also offers free publication support to African
researchers through its unique Author Assist
program. The journal is in its fourth volume; it is
published quarterly and is freely available online at
www.afjem.com.
AFEM Consensus Conferences
Since 2011, AFEM has hosted an annual consensus
conference where dedicated groups of experienced
emergency care professionals are tasked with
developing consensus on various aspects and
challenges of emergency care in Africa. Prior outputs
include an overview manuscript on regional priorities
for emergency medical care in Africa, a white paper
on emergency nursing care in Africa, and an editorial
on Emergency Medical Services (EMS) in Africa. The
second consensus conference was held in November
2013 in Cape Town, South Africa, and focused on the
burden of acute disease and the current state of
emergency care systems in Sub-Saharan Africa. The
third will be held in April 2015, and will focus on
furthering efforts to integrate emergency care into
national health systems.
AFEM Training Curricula
AFEM has successfully completed the development
of a curriculum for training local specialists in
emergency medicine. This is a three-year curriculum
that is designed to teach the accepted standard of
practice for specialists across the world, while at the
same time tailoring education to reflect the unique
aspects of practicing in resource limited settings. The
curriculum is currently being taught in Tanzania,
where the Muhimbili University of Health and Allied
Sciences recently graduated its first group of locally
trained Emergency physicians.
A second 1-year curriculum is targeted at general
doctors, nurses and clinical officers working in acute
care settings, and aims to impart basic knowledge of
emergency care to make clinicians more comfortable
and familiar with treating acute conditions.
Trauma Database
AFEM has successfully developed and implemented
a standardized clinical chart for capturing essential
information on all trauma patients across several
sites in Africa. This standardized trauma form is
used both as a means of clinical care and as a
database. Clinically, it provides a systematic
approach to all trauma patients, thus ensuring a
standard of care. The trauma form also allows the
same information to be consistently collected from
all trauma patients at sites where it is used.
Collection of data using the trauma forms will allow
for the creation of trauma databases across Africa,
and will be an invaluable resource in the future.
Currently, AFEM has implemented the trauma forms
in Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of the
Congo, with proposed expansion this year to
Uganda, Ethiopia, Kenya, and South Africa.
Regional and International Government
Consultation
AFEM has consulted with national ministries and
key stakeholders in several countries to support
the development of emergency care; we currently
have, or are developing, active projects in
Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of the Congo,
Zambia, Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa,
Uganda, and Zambia.
AFEM was accepted into the WHO Global Alliance
for Care of the Injured in 2013.
What is AFEM doing?
Handbook of Acute and Emergency Care
AFEM has written a handbook of acute and
emergency care that is designed to be used by all
levels of providers for the care of acutely ill or
injured patients. The handbook has topics that
match the training curriculum, and provides a quick
reference to many emergent conditions. It is unique
in that it is the only book to take into account the
different skill levels of providers, as well as resource
availability and limitations at various sites. The
handbook was published in November 2013 (by
Oxford University Press), and AFEM has secured
8400 free copies that have been distributed to 44
Sub-Saharan African countries.
You can purchase the AFEM Handbook in print or
ebook format from:
- oxford.co.za
- amazon.com and amazon.co.uk
- kalahari.com
AFEM Presentation Bank
AFEM has created a presentation bank of lecture
series designed to accompany the AFEM training
curriculum. These lectures have been developed and
reviewed by emergency medicine physicians from
across the world. All presentations are then edited
by an African editorial board to ensure both quality
and clinical utility for the African setting.
AFEM Short Course for Acute Care Providers
AFEM has developed and successfully launched a
short course targeting providers who are directly
involved in the care of acutely ill or injured patients
yet are unable to complete extended training. The
course aims to ensure that the same standard of care
is provided to all acutely ill or injured patients across
the region by providing knowledge tailored to the
resource limitations prevalent in Africa.
Fundraising
Emergency care in Africa has seen significant advancements in the past several years, but there is still a lot
of work to be done. AFEM relies on the generous support of donors for many of our projects and
programs. Donations fund our annual conferences, and allow for the attendance of emergency care
providers from countries across Africa. Donations are also crucial for the production and dissemination of
the AFEM handbook and clinical training courses. With your help, we can continue to make progress in
African emergency care. AFEM is registered as a non-profit organization in South Africa, and has a USbased 501(c)(3) tax-exempt partner, the American Friends of AFEM.
For more information about AFEM and our activities, please contact programs@afem.info, or visit
www.afem.info