GEMA Grand Rounds: The Role of Emergency Care Systems in Outbreak Response
Rwanda's Marburg virus outbreak response demonstrates how a strengthened emergency care system, rapid multidisciplinary coordination, and evidence-based interventions like dissemination of remdesivir PEP and monoclonal antibodies can drive case fatality down from 90% to 23%. This talk, the inaugural Global Emergency Medicine Academy (GEMA) Grand Rounds, goes beyond clinical and operational lessons and discusses the story of resilience and ethical leadership, while offering a blueprint for building emergency care systems ready to meet future epidemics.
Objectives
By the end of this talk, participants will be able to:
- Identify how rapid response, multidisciplinary coordination, and frontline leadership improved Rwanda's Marburg Virus Outbreak Response in 2004.
- Describe how evidence-based interventions (remdesivir PEP, experimental vaccines, monoclonal antibodies, advanced intensive care) protected healthcare workers and reduced case fatality.
- Recognize how resilience and ethical leadership are fundamental in building emergency care systems capable of responding to future epidemics.
Moderators/Panelists
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Tsion Firew
Chair, Emergency Medicine
Africa Health Sciences University, Rwanda
Dr. Tsion Firew is a leader in emergency medicine and global health, serving as Chair of Emergency Medicine at Africa Health Sciences University in Rwanda, Associate Professor at New York University, and Senior Advisor on Emergency Medical Services to Rwanda's Ministry of Health. She previously spent six years advising Ethiopia's Minister of Health on emergency care and strategic partnerships, and was faculty at Columbia University. Dr. Firew was central to Rwanda's Marburg response, leading clinical coordination and research on novel therapeutics, and co-authored a landmark World Health Assembly resolution on emergency care. She champions emergency systems as a foundation for Universal Health Coverage, health equity, and women's leadership. A trusted voice during COVID-19 on CNN, BBC, VOA, and NPR, Dr. Firew serves on the MedPage Today Editorial Board and WHO Technical Advisory Group on Integrated Clinical Care, and was named one of Medscape's "10 Women in Medicine You Need to Follow."