Emergency Officials From Nine Countries Visit Israel for MDA Training

A delegation of 21 senior emergency officials from Latin America and Spain visited Israel for a professional workshop with Magen David Adom. The five-day program focused on emergency medicine, disaster response and handling mass-casualty incidents.

Officials came from Spain, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Argentina, the Dominican Republic, Bolivia, Chile and Honduras. MDA and Israel's Foreign Ministry organized the program as part of Project 545.

During the visit, participants toured MDA's national headquarters in Ramle. They learned how the organization operates its 101 emergency hotline, dispatches medical teams and manages large-scale incidents in real time.

The group also visited MDA's blood services laboratories and national breast milk bank. In addition, officials trained in responding to incidents involving large numbers of casualties. At MDA's simulation center, instructors demonstrated the systems used to train Israeli emergency medical teams.

Panama's civil defense authority said its officials studied Israel's hospital preparedness, blood-bank management and rapid-response methods. Meanwhile, the Dominican Red Cross said its representative examined telemedicine, clinical simulation and emergency service management during crises.

Participants also examined several specialized MDA vehicles. These included intensive care buses that can treat and evacuate multiple critically injured patients, as well as off-road rescue vehicles and emergency motorcycles.

The delegation later visited Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv before traveling south. There, members toured Barzilai and Soroka hospitals and visited the site of the Nova music festival massacre.

At MDA's Sderot station, officials learned about the organization's response to the October 7 attacks. They also met the family of MDA paramedic Amit Mann. Mann was murdered while treating wounded residents in Kibbutz Be'eri.

The group later traveled to Jerusalem and visited the city's MDA station. Emergency personnel there briefed the delegation on their work across the capital.

MDA Director-General Eli Bin said Israel's experience during routine emergencies and wartime has created knowledge that can help emergency services abroad.

The workshop is part of MDA's wider cooperation with international emergency organizations. Several participants had previously taken part in professional programs involving MDA.

The initiative is expected to continue with future delegations.