The African Federation for Emergency Medicine (AFEM), led by KNUST alumnus Dr. Joseph Bonney, has secured a long-term agreement with the World Health Organization (WHO) to implement a multi-country initiative aimed at strengthening emergency care in four African countries.

The agreement, awarded following a competitive bidding process, will see the AFEM-led Improving Acute Care Transformation (IMPACT) Consortium implement the Acute Care Transformation through Basic Emergency Care (ACTxBEC) initiative in Ethiopia, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda.

The Ministry of Health-WHO-led initiative seeks to strengthen first-contact emergency care through the large-scale implementation and evaluation of the WHO and International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Basic Emergency Care (BEC) programme, building on existing national experience and investment in emergency care in the four countries.

The multi-year initiative is expected to reach thousands of healthcare workers in about 800 health facilities, strengthening the capacity of frontline health workers to recognise, assess and manage life-threatening illnesses and injuries.

Dr. Bonney, President of AFEM, is an alumnus of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi (KNUST) and a Specialist Emergency Physician at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH). He holds a Master of Public Health from KNUST and has been involved in the development of emergency medicine in Ghana and across Africa.

The ACTxBEC initiative will scale up implementation of the BEC programme, combining training with simulation, continuous skills practice and workplace-based learning.

Beyond training health workers, the programme will evaluate how emergency care education can be effectively delivered at scale, how acquired skills translate into clinical practice and their impact on patient care and outcomes.

The IMPACT Consortium brings together national emergency care professional organisations from the four participating countries, including the Ethiopian Society of Emergency Professionals, Emergency Care Association of Uganda, Emergency Medicine Association of Tanzania and Rwanda Emergency Care Association.

Other academic and professional partners include Africa Health Sciences University, the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, Malteser International, Seed Global Health, the Association of Ambulance Professionals Uganda and the University of Cape Town Collaborating Centre for Integrated Clinical Care.

The initiative forms part of broader efforts to scale up Basic Emergency Care in Africa through the WHO Foundation's Lifeline Fund, supported by partners including Laerdal Global Health, the AKO Foundation and the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation.

AFEM said the consortium would place African institutions and national emergency care organisations at the centre of implementing and evaluating the programme, drawing on regional expertise and locally grounded approaches.

For Dr. Bonney, the latest development adds to a growing record of leadership in emergency medicine. In June 2026, he was elected to the Board of the International Federation for Emergency Medicine (IFEM) at the International Conference on Emergency Medicine in Hamburg, Germany. He was also inducted as a Fellow of the International Federation for Emergency Medicine.

As President of AFEM, Dr. Bonney has championed emergency care systems strengthening, professional training, research and collaboration across the continent. He is also a WHO Basic Emergency Care Master Trainer.