The New Emergency HeaIth Kit (WHO)

Lists of drugs and medical supplies for a population of 10,000 persons for approximately 3 months

Introduction

In recent years the various organizations and agencies of the United Nations system have been called upon to respond to an increasing number of large-scale emergencies and disasters, many of which pose a serious threat to health. Much of the assistance provided in such situations by donor agencies, governments, voluntary organizations and others is in the form of drugs and medical supplies. But the practical impact of this aid is often diminished because requests do not reflect the real needs or because these have not been adequately assessed. This can result in donations of unsorted, unsuitable and unintelligibly labelled drugs, or the provision of products which have passed their expiry date. Such problems are often compounded by delays in delivery and customs clearance.

The World Health Organization, which is the directing and coordinating authority for international health work within the United Nations system, took up the question of how emergency response could be facilitated. After several years of study, field testing and modifications, standard lists of essential drugs and medical supplies for use in an emergency were developed. The aim was to encourage the standardization of drugs and medical supplies used in an emergency to permit a swift and effective response with supplies that meet priority health needs. A further goal was to promote disaster preparedness since such standardization means that kits of essential items can be kept in readiness to meet urgent requirements.

The WHO Emergency Health Kit, which resulted from this work, was originally developed in collaboration with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. It has now been revised in collaboration between the Action Programme on Essential Drugs (WHO, Geneva), the Emergency Preparedness and Response Unit (WHO, Geneva), the unit of Pharmaceuticals (WHO, Geneva), the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, UNICEF, Mcins Sans Frontis, the League of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (Geneva), the Christian Medical Commission of the World Council of Churches and the International Committee of the Red Cross. A review of the experience of previous users of the kit, prepared by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, as well as field experience of UNICEF and Mcins Sans Frontis, were also considered during the revision. Major suppliers of the kit were consulted on the specifications of its contents.

The kit has now been adopted by many organizations and national authorities as a reliable, standardized, inexpensive, appropriate and quickly available source of the essential drugs and health equipment urgently needed in a disaster situation. Its contents are calculated to meet the needs of a population of 10,000 persons for three months. It has been renamed the: "New Emergency Health Kit" because of the number and diversity of United Nations agencies and other bodies which have adopted this list of drugs and medical supplies for their emergency operations and which participated in its revision.

This booklet provides background information on the development of the kit, a description of its contents, comments on the selection of items, treatment guidelines for prescribers and some useful checklists for suppliers and prescribers. Chapter 1 (Essential drugs and supplies in emergency situations) is intended as a general introduction for health administrators and field officers. Chapter 2 (Comments on the selection of drugs, medical supplies and equipment included in the kit) contains more technical details and is intended for prescribers.

Publication of this document was made possible by financial contributions received from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the Government of the Netherlands, the WHO Emergency Preparedness and Response Unit and the WHO Action Programme on Essential Drugs.

Chapter 1: Essential drugs and supplies in Emergency situations

What is an Emergency?

The term "emergency" is applied to various situations resulting from natural, political and economic disasters. The New Emergency Health Kit is not intended for the acute phase of epidemics, war, earthquake, floods, etc. but is designed to meet the needs of a population with disrupted medical facilities in the second phase of a natural or other disaster, or a displaced population without medical facilities. It has also been used in countries with acute shortages of drugs due to economic reasons.

It must be emphasized that, although supplying drugs and medical supplies in the standard kits is convenient in the second phase of an emergency, specific local requirements need to be assessed as soon as possible and further supplies must be ordered accordingly.

Quantification of drug requirements

Morbidity patterns (the relative frequency of different illnesses) may vary considerably between emergencies. For example, in emergencies where malnutrition is common morbidity rates may be very high. For this reason an estimation of drug requirements from a distance can only be approximate, although certain predictions can be made based on past experience. For the present kit estimates have been based on the average morbidity patterns and the use of standard treatment guidelines. The quantities of drugs supplied will therefore only be adequate if prescribers follow these guidelines (given in Annexes 1-3).

Contents of the kit

The New Emergency Health Kit consists of two different sets of drugs and medical supplies, named a BASIC UNIT and a SUPPLEMENTARY UNIT(The previous version consisted of three lists: A = basic drugs; B = supplementary drugs; C = medical supplies and equipment for basic and supplementary lists). To facilitate distribution to smaller health facilities on site, the quantities of drugs and medical supplies in the basic unit have been divided into ten identical units for 1,000 persons each.

FIGURE

The BASIC UNIT contains drugs, medical supplies and some essential equipment for primary health care workers with limited training. It contains twelve drugs, none of which are injectable. Simple treatment guidelines, based on symptoms, have been developed to help the training of personnel in the proper use of the drugs. Copies of these treatment guidelines, an example of which is printed in Annexes 1-3, should be be included in each unit. Additional copies can be obtained from the Action Programme on Essential Drugs, WHO, Geneva, and from UNICEF Copenhagen (see Annex 7 for addresses).

The SUPPLEMENTARY UNIT contains drugs and medical supplies for a population of 10,000 and is to be used only by professional health workers or physicians. It does not contain any drugs or supplies from the basic units and can therefore only be used when these are available as well.

The selection and quantification of drugs for the basic and supplementary units have been based on recommendations for standard treatment regimens from technical units within WHO. A manual describing the standard treatment regimens for target diseases, developed in collaboration between Mcins sans Frontis and WHO, is available from Mcins sans Frontis at cost price and is to be included in each supplementary unit.

To facilitate identification in an emergency, one green sticker (international color code for medical items) should be placed on each parcel. The word "BASIC" should be printed on stickers for basic units.

Referral system

Health services can be decentralized by the use of basic health care clinics (the most peripheral level of health care) providing simple treatment using the basic units. Such a decentralization will:
1) increase the access of the population to curative care; and 2) avoid overcrowding of referral facilities by solving all common health problems at the most peripheral level. Basic treatment protocols have been drawn up to allow these health workers to take the right decision on treatment or referral, according to the symptoms (see Annexes 1-3).

The first referral level should be staffed by professional health workers, usually medical assistants or doctors, who will use drugs, supplies and equipment from both the basic and the supplementary units. It should be stressed here that the basic and supplementary units have not been intended to enable these health workers to treat rare diseases or major surgical cases. For such patients a second level of referral is needed, usually a district or general hospital. Such facilities are normally part of the national health system and referral procedures are arranged with the local health authorities.

Procurement of the kit

The New Emergency Health Kit can be provided from a number of major pharmaceutical suppliers, some of which will have a permanent stock of kits ready for shipment within 48 hours. It may however be desirable to secure procurement at the regional level to reduce the cost of shipping. The procuring agency should ensure that manufacturers comply with the guidelines for quality, packaging and labelling of drugs (see Annex 6).

It is important to note that many drugs in the kit can be considered as examples of a therapeutic group, and that other drugs can often serve as alternatives. This should be taken into consideration when drugs are selected at the national level, since the choice of drugs may then be influenced by whether equivalent products are immediately available from local sources, and their comparative cost and quality. National authorities may wish to stockpile the same or equivalent drugs and supplies as part of their emergency preparedness programme. The kit can also serve as a useful baseline supply list of essential drugs for primary health care.

Donor guidelines

Whatever the source of drugs, it is very important that:

- No drugs should be sent from a donor country without a specific request, or without prior clearance by the receiving country;
- No drugs should be sent that are not on the List of Essential Drugs of the receiving country, or, if such a national list is not available, on the WHO Model List of Essential Drugs;
- No drugs should arrive with a future life (before expiry date) of less than one year;
- Labelling of the drugs should be in the appropriate language(s) and should at least contain the generic name, strength, name of manufacturer and expiry date (see Annex 6);
- Labelling on the outside package should contain the same information, plus the total quantity of drugs in the package.

Immunization in emergency

Experience in past emergencies involving displacements of populations has shown measles to be one of the major causes of death among younger children. The disease spreads rapidly in overcrowded conditions, and serious respiratory tract infections are frequent, particularly in malnourished children. An adequate supply of essential drugs may reduce the mortality rate, but measles can be prevented by immunization. A measles immunization programme should therefore be given high priority in the early phase of an emergency. The WHO Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI), UNICEF, the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and OXFAM have collaborated in the development of the Emergency Immunization Kit, which may be used to set up an emergency immunization programme against measles. This kit contains cold chain and injection equipment for 5,000 immunizations and may be ordered from OXFAM. Vaccines are not included.

Post emergency needs

After the acute phase of an emergency is over and basic health needs have been covered by the basic and supplementary units, specific needs for further supplies should be assessed as soon as possible. In most cases this will necessitate a quick description and, if possible, quantification of the morbidity profile. It should characterise the most common diseases and should identify the exposed and high risk groups in the population (e.g. children below 5 years of age and pregnant women). These high risk groups should be the first target of the continuing health care programme. Any other factors that may influence requirements should also be taken into account, e.g. the demographic pattern of the community, the physical condition of the individuals, seasonal variations of morbidity and mortality, the impact of improved public health measures, the local availability of drugs and other supplies, drug resistance, usual medical practice in the country, capabilities of the health workers and the effectiveness of the referral system.

Much time and money may be saved by adapting re-order forms to the specific needs of the situation and by standardizing re-order procedures for all locations and health teams, regardless of whether supplies are available locally or must be ordered from abroad.

Chapter 2: Comments on the selection of drugs, medical supplies and equipment included in the kit

The composition of the New Emergency Health Kit is based on epidemiological data, population profiles, disease patterns and certain assumptions borne out by emergency experience. These assumptions are:

· The most peripheral level of the health care system will be staffed by health workers with only limited medical training, who will treat symptoms rather than diagnosed diseases and who will refer to the next level those patients who need more specialized treatment.
· Half of the population is 0-14 years of age.
· The average number of patients presenting themselves with the more common symptoms or diseases can be predicted.
· Standardized schedules will be used to treat these symptoms or diseases.
· The rate of referral from the basic to the next level is 10%.
· The first referral level of health care is staffed by experienced medical assistants or medical doctors, with no or very limited facilities for inpatient care.
· If both the basic and first referral health care facilities are within reasonable reach of the target population, every individual will, on average, visit such facilities four times per year for advice or treatment. As a consequence the supplies in the kit, which are sufficient for approximately 10,000 outpatient consultations, will serve a population of 10,000 people for a period of approximately three months.

Selection of the drugs

Injectable drugs

There are no injectable drugs in the basic unit. Basic health workers with little training have usually not been taught to prescribe injections, neither are they trained to administer them. Moreover, the most common diseases in their uncomplicated form do not generally require an injectable drug. Any patient who needs an injection must be referred to the first referral level.

Antibiotics

Infectious bacterial diseases are common at all levels of health care, including the most peripheral, and basic health workers should therefore have the possiblity to prescribe an antibiotic. However, many basic health workers have not been trained to prescribe antibiotics in a rational way. Cotrimoxazole is the only antibiotic included in the basic unit, and this will enable the health worker to concentrate on taking the right decision between prescribing an antibiotic or not, rather than on the choice between several antibiotics. Cotrimoxazole has been selected because it is active against the most common bacteria found in the field, especially S. pneumonind H. influenzor acute respiratory infections. It is also stable under tropical conditions, needs to be taken only twice daily and its side-effects (exfoliative dermatitis or bone marrow depression) are uncommon. In addition to this it is less expensive than other antibiotics. The risk of increasing bacterial resistance must be reduced by rational prescribing practice.

Drugs not included in the kit

The kit includes neither the common vaccines nor any drugs against communicable diseases such as tuberculosis or leprosy. The vaccines needed and any plans for an expanded programme on immunization should be discussed with the national authorities as soon as possible; the same applies for programmes to combat communicable diseases. In general no special programme should be initiated unless there is sufficient guarantee for its continuation over a longer period.

In addition, drugs in the kit do not cover some specific health problems occurring in certain geographical areas, e.g. specific resistant malaria strains.

Selection of renewable supplies

Syringes and needles

Considering the risk of direct contamination with hepatitis and AIDS during handling, needles are dangerous items. The health risk for the staff should be limited by the following means:

· Limiting the number of injections;
· Using disposable needles only;
· Strictly following the destruction procedures for disposable material.

It is less dangerous to handle syringes than needles. For this reason a system with resterilisable nylon syringes and disposable needles has been chosen for the supplementary unit. However, in the very first stage, when sterilization procedures are not yet established, some provision will be necessary for giving injections by means of fully disposable materials. A small number of disposable syringes are therefore provided in the supplementary unit and their destruction should be supervised by the person in charge.

Gloves

Disposable protective gloves are provided in the basic unit to protect health workers against possible infection during dressings or handling of infected materials. In any case a dressing should be applied or changed with the instruments provided in the kit. Surgical gloves, which should be resterilizable, are supplied in the supplementary unit. They are to be used for deliveries, sutures and minor surgery, all under medical supervision.

Selection of equipment

Resuscitation / Surgical instruments

The kit has been designed for general medicine under primitive conditions, and for that reason no equipment for resuscitation or major surgery has been included. In situations of war, earthquakes or epidemics, specialised teams with medical equipment and supplies will be required.

Sterilization

A complete sterilization set is provided in the kit. The basic units contain two small drums each for sterile dressing materials. Two drums are included to enable the alternate sterilization of one at the first referral level while the other is being used in the peripheral facility. The supplementary unit contains a kerosene stove and two pressure sterilizers, a small one for sterilizing 2 ml and 5 ml syringes, and a larger one for the small drums with dressing materials and the instrument sets.

Dilution and storage of liquids

The kit contains several plastic bottles and a few large disposable syringes which are needed to dilute and store liquids (e.g. benzyl benzoate, chlorhexidine and gentian violet solution).

Water supply

The kit contains several items to help provide for clean water at the health facility. Each basic unit contains a 20 litre foldable jerrycan and a plastic bucket. The supplementary unit contains a water filter with candles and 2.5 kg of chloramine powder to chlorinate the water.

Chapter 3: Composition of the New Emergency Health Kit

The New Emergency Health Kit consists of ten basic units and one supplementary unit.

10 basic units (for basic health workers) for a population of 10,000 persons for 3 months (1 basic unit for 1,000 persons for 3 months). The unit contains drugs, renewable supplies and basic equipment packed in one carton.

1 supplementary unit (for physicians and senior health workers), for a population of 10,000 people for 3 months. One supplementary unit contains:

- drugs (approximately 130 kg)
- essential infusions (approximately 180 kg)
- renewable supplies (approximately 60 kg)
- equipment (approximately 40 kg)

NB: The supplementary unit does not contain any drugs and medical supplies from the basic unit. To be operational, the supplementary unit should be used together with ten basic units

FIGURE

Basic unit (for 1,000 persons for 3 months)

Drugs

Renewable supplies

Equipment

Supplementary unit (for 10,000 persons for 3 months)

Drugs

Anaesthesics

Analgesics

Recall from basic unit:

Anti-allergics