Invitation

On behalf of the Government of Australia in its capacity as Regional Chair for 2017 of the Emergency Medical Team (EMT) initiative, I have the pleasure to extend this invitation to participate in the “EMT Western Pacific Regional Meeting and Workshop on Strengthening the Emergency Medical Teams initiative For All-Hazards Emergencies Preparedness, Alert and Response”. The meeting will take place in Canberra, Australia from 21-22 November 2017.

This invitation is addressed to all countries in the Western Pacific region with an interest in EMT response and capacity building work as well as partners and stakeholders in EMT response in the region. Countries with WHO-classified international Emergency Medical Teams (EMTs) as well as countries at high risk of sudden-onset disasters, potentially requiring EMT response, and/or countries creating national EMT capacities are particularly encouraged to participate.

Participants in the meeting are expected to have policy and/or operational expertise within the respective Governments/Ministries of Health on matters pertaining to EMT capacity strengthening and response, as well as team leaders of existing Emergency Medical Teams. Please be aware this workshop will be conducted in English.

The main purpose of the meeting is to facilitate discussion and agreement between member states and EMT providers on topics such as EMT coordination, training, exercises and capacity building as well as experience sharing and lessons learnt on regional response operations. The workshop will provide a forum for participants to shape a regional agenda on the implementation of the EMT initiative in the Western Pacific region, jointly with WHO. It will also provide an opportunity to raise awareness on global level developments of the EMT initiative as well as for stakeholders in the region to contribute to these developments.

Please refer to the attached concept note and proposed preliminary agenda of the meeting for further information. This information along with additional meeting documentation will be made available on the following website:
https://vosocc.unocha.org/GetFile.aspx?xml=4927byhw_l1.html&tid=4927&laid=1

Registration

Participants are kindly requested to register for the meeting using the following link and completing the online registration form. The deadline for registration is 27 October 2017. Participants who already have a Virtual OSOCC account shall register with their existing account; all other participants are kindly requested to register using the option “register for event”.

Participants are requested to organize their travel arrangements in order to be in Canberra, Australia by 20 November 2017. Please note that the participants are requested to cover the costs of their own participation in this workshop including the costs of travel to and from Australia. Delegates wishing to engage a travel consultant to assist with their travel and accommodation bookings can contact Ms. Janine West at Show Group Enterprises at events@showgroup.com.au or +61 2 9352 9973.

Financial support to attend

Should your country or organisation require financial assistance to attend, please complete the attached request form and return it to ol@who.int and emteams@who.int latest by 18 October 2017 with “EMT Western Pacific Regional meeting” in the subject line. Limited funds are available to provide financial assistance to cover flights (in economy fare) and per diem (according to WHO rules applicable to Canberra, Australia) to cover accommodation and other related costs such as local airport transfer.

Visas

Participants are responsible to obtain their own visas. Please note that visa requirements to enter Australia can be stringent and the process can take many weeks. Health and character requirements must be met, and this supporting documentation can take some time to obtain, resulting in delays. Participants are urged to commence the visa process as soon as possible. There are currently three business visa options:

• eVisitor visa (subclass 651)
• Electronic Travel Authority (Business Stream) (Subclass 601)
• Visitor (Business Stream) visa (Subclass 600)

The type of passport you hold determines the appropriate visa to apply for and whether you can apply online, or need to lodge a paper-based application. No visa label is attached to the passport – a visa notification letter is issued electronically to the applicant. The event organisers can issue participants with a letter confirming registration, and this can be attached to the visa application. To identify the appropriate visa, please visit the Department of Border Protection’s website and use the “Find a Visa” tool: https://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Visa-1

A detailed Guide for Participants will be made available in the coming days on the above-mentioned website with information on logistical and administrative aspects as well as points of contact.

We look forward to your participation in the meeting.

Yours sincerely,