El día 10 de febrero a las 7:00 (hora de España) realizaremos un mantenimiento de las páginas web de AECID, que se prolongará durante unas horas. Disculpen las molestias

WHAT IS START? START (Spanish Technical Aid Response Team) is the Spanish Technical Aid and Emergency Response Team, also known as the ‘Red Vests’. It is one of Spain's flagship humanitarian initiatives. START reflects the evolution of international humanitarian emergency response, which reached a turning point with the lessons learnt following the international response to the 2010 Haiti earthquake.

It was originally created to address the need for greater coordination, standardisation and self-sufficiency in the response demanded by the international community in relation to Emergency Medical Teams (EMTs). The AECID has worked for years to prepare this emergency response in accordance with the various certificates and standards of the World Health Organisation (WHO). In 2018, it achieved Type 2 EMT accreditation (the EMT-2), and its re-accreditation took place in 2023.

The classification of the EMT-2 represented the AECID’s firm commitment to leading Spanish Cooperation’s humanitarian response to health emergencies and consists of a field hospital with surgical and inpatient facilities. There are a limited number of hospitals with these characteristics classified worldwide. Within the European Union’s Civil Protection Mechanism, only Spain, Belgium, Denmark, France, Italy and Turkey have such facilities.

RAPID DEPLOYMENT CAPACITY

FIELD HOSPITAL OPERATIONAL WITHIN HOURS

ADVANCED SURGICAL CAPACITY

HIGHLY SPECIALISED TEAM

WHAT IS THE START RESPONSE?

In 2019, START conducted its first international deployment, following the devastation caused by Tropical Cyclone Idai in Mozambique, and it was during the COVID-19 pandemic that START participated for the first time in a national response by donating its medical supplies to support Spain's civil protection response.
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, new international working groups began to be set up with the aim of forming specialised humanitarian response teams (for infectious diseases, rehabilitation, maternal and child health, etc.) and developing new response modules (water purification, oxygen generation, etc.).
The AECID, having participated in various humanitarian responses, decided to begin the processes of certifying and classifying new response capabilities for this type of emergency.
Today, START consists of several specialised emergency response capabilities:

EMT-2: a field hospital with surgical capacity (seven major or 15 minor operations per day), and inpatient care capacity for up to 20 patients.
EMT-1: a field hospital providing outpatient care for a total of 100 patients per day.
AquaSTART: water purification module.
A new capability is in the pipeline: a unit specialising in oxygen generation.

The START response, led by the AECID, comprises a broad network of institutions and organisations that make this response possible:

Ministry of Health, through a collaboration agreement and in coordination with the Regional Health Departments of the various Autonomous Communities and Autonomous Cities, providing healthcare staff for the START response.
Ministry of the Interior: through the Directorate-General for Civil Protection and Emergencies, which acts as a liaison with the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Civil Protection and European Humanitarian Aid Operations.
Ministry of Defence: housing the equipment required for emergency response in the hangar at Torrejón de Ardoz Air Base.
The Madrid City Council Fire Brigade, SUMMA 112 (the Community of Madrid’s Emergency Medical Service) and ERICAM (the Community of Madrid’s Emergency and Immediate Response Service), which provide logistical staff for the START response, and the NGO CESAL, which provides cooks.
TRAGSA: through a management contract to support the Sub-Directorate for Humanitarian Emergencies.

THE START RESPONSE WITHIN THE INTERNATIONAL CONTEXT

THE WHO AND THE EMT INITIATIVE

START's response capabilities would not be possible without the international frameworks that coordinate operations, establish standards and promote cooperation among emergency response teams.

The World Health Organisation (WHO), which plays a leading role in coordinating various humanitarian health emergencies, established the Emergency Medical Teams (EMT) Initiative.

EMTs are classified according to their healthcare capabilities (EMT-1, EMT-2, EMT-3) and must meet minimum requirements for self-sufficiency in both clinical and operational terms (power, drinking water supply, waste management, etc.) as well as adhere to the humanitarian principles that must underpin all emergency responses.

THE EUROPEAN CIVIL PROTECTION MECHANISM (ECPM)

The need for faster, better coordinated and more effective emergency responses to emergencies on European territory led to the creation in 2001 of the European Civil Protection Mechanism (ECPM), which focuses on the field of civil protection and falls under the Directorate-General for Civil Protection and European Humanitarian Aid Operations (DG ECHO).

The Mechanism is one of the strongest examples of European solidarity in action, based on solidarity amongst Member States and partner countries of the European Union (EU), as it comprises response teams that are made available to other Member States to act in situations where a particular country’s national capacities are overwhelmed, as well as for missions in third countries. The START EMT-1, EMT-2 and AquaSTART response modules form part of the ECPM's pool of capacities, and DG ECHO co-funds their deployment when this is carried out through the Mechanism.

INTERNATIONAL DEPLOYMENTS OF THE START RESPONSE

2019