Setting the agenda in emergency medicine in the southern African region: Conference assumptions and recommendations, Emergency Medicine Conference 2014: Gaborone, Botswana

Abstract

The first international emergency medicine (EM) conference in Botswana was held on 15th and 16th May 2014 at the Gaborone International Convention Centre. The support from key stakeholders positioned the conference, from its conception, to deliver expert guidance on emergency medicine relevance, education and systems implementation. The conference theme was aptly: “Setting the Agenda in Emergency Medicine in the Southern African Region.” Over 300 local, regional and international delegates convened to participate in this landmark event. Country representation included Botswana, South Africa, Zambia, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Swaziland, Lesotho, Nigeria and the United States of America. Conference assumptions intersected emergency care, African burden of injury and illness and the role of the state; the public protection ethic of emergency care, and the developmental, economic and health interest in promoting EM. The recommendations addressed emergency care relevance; health systems research as an imperative for emergency systems development in southern Africa; community agency as a requisite for emergency care resilience; emergency care workers as pivotal to the emergency medical system, and support of EM system implementation. The conference recommendations – by way of setting an agenda, augur well for emergency care development and implementation in the southern African region and are likely to prove useful to the southern African countries seeking to address health service quality, EM advocacy support and implementation guidance. Emergency medicine is the only discipline with ‘universality’ and ‘responsivity’ at the point of need. This implies the widespread potential for facilitation of access to health care: a public health goal nuanced by the African development agenda.