USAID Emergency Medicine Program Receives High Marks 

In an effort to shore up its regional social and economic development program, the Government of Azerbaijan is focusing on improving emergency medicine at its hospitals.

The country’s emergency departments, first developed during the Soviet period in response to an increased need for rapid assessment and management of critical illnesses, have not kept pace with current standards. Rather than offering specialized critical care, emergency department staff are often charged with delivering primary care and triage to patients who present with a broad spectrum of illnesses and injuries, only some of which may be life-threatening and require immediate attention.

In 2004, USAID, HESS, Chevron, and BTC/SCP launched the Emergency Medicine Development Initiative (EMDI) program to provide technical assistance to the Government of Azerbaijan in improving emergency medical services. Since then, the program implementer, International Medical Corps (IMC), has built new programs and reconstructed existing emergency departments at central hospitals throughout the country.