The US National Disaster Medical System (NDMS) deploys specialized teams for acute trauma, pediatric care, mortuary services, and veterinary response to manage various disaster scenarios. These teams offer potential models for enhancing the WHO Emergency Medical Teams (EMT) program’s international humanitarian and disaster response capabilities.

This study analyzes the structure, effectiveness, and lessons from NDMS specialized teams, assessing their applicability to the WHO EMT program. It aims to provide recommendations for developing specialized teams for international disaster medical response.

A comprehensive review of NDMS team deployments is conducted, focusing on organization, training, utilization, strategies, and outcomes. Data is collected from NDMS reports and debriefings. Comparative analysis identifies best practices and key lessons for the WHO EMT program.

Preliminary findings indicate that specialized teams effectively address specific disaster needs. Strengths include specialized training, rapid deployment, and targeted medical care. Lessons from NDMS emphasize the importance of specialized skills, interdisciplinary coordination, and flexible operations, enhancing generalized response capabilities. These insights support recommendations for the WHO EMT program to develop specialized teams for diverse humanitarian and disaster challenges.

NDMS specialized teams provide a valuable model for the WHO EMT program. Adopting and adapting this model can enhance the WHO EMT program’s capacity to offer specialized support in international humanitarian and disaster medical responses. Developing trauma, pediatric, mortuary, and veterinary teams within the WHO EMT framework can improve global disaster response effectiveness and efficiency.