WHO-PAHO Guidelines for the Use of Foreign Field Hospitals in the Aftermath of Sudden-Impact Disasters

Introduction: Both natural and complex disasters may produce a massive number of casualties that outstrip the ability of the local health care system to provide the required care. Damage to the health care infrastructure will further compromise the delivery of health services. As a consequence, affected and collaborating countries are anxious to find ways to provide immediate medical care to victims. An obvious solution would seem to be the dispatch of mobile field hospitals to the stricken area. In complex disasters (civil conflicts and wars), field hospitals—civilian or military—have been used with notable success...