The programme focuses on providing medical care to vulnerable population groups. Treatment is provided free of charge exclusively to civilians in serious health conditions or whose health condition prevents them from leading a dignified life.
MEDEVAC is implemented through sending Czech medical teams abroad, specialized internships and training for foreign healthcare professionals, humanitarian evacuations of individuals for treatment in the Czech Republic, and support for healthcare projects to develop medical infrastructure.
The MEDEVAC Programme is coordinated by the Ministry of the Interior and operates in close interdepartmental cooperation with other involved ministries, specifically the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Defence, and the Czech Army. In 2016, the Ministry of Industry and Trade joined the MEDEVAC Programme, and in 2021, the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports also became a participant.
internships in Czechia
czech hospitals involved
operated patients
Activities
- Humanitarian evacuations of persons with a severe health condition to the Czech Republic for treatment (since 1993)
- Deployment of Czech teams of doctors abroad (since 2013)
- Specialised internships of physicians from the areas hit by humanitarian crisis in the Czech Republic (since 2015)
- Provision of financial donations abroad for the support and development of infrastructure in countries affected by war or natural disasters (since 2016)
HISTORY
„It is a project that uplifts the spirit of everyone involved. I am pleased to have been a part of it.“
- PhDr. Tomáš Haišman
The origins of the MEDEVAC program (an abbreviation of the English term "medical evacuation") date back to 1993 and are associated with the war conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In the fall, a four-year-old girl who was injured by a grenade in a Bosnian town was transported to the Czech Republic. Although local doctors did their utmost to ensure her survival, her injuries required specialized assistance. This assistance was provided by the Motol University Hospital in Prague at the request of the Ministry of the Interior.
Subsequently, more patients arrived, not only children but also adults. Although the war ended in 1995, a new conflict began in Kosovo in 1998, and MEDEVAC (still a project of the Ministry of the Interior at the time) once again offered a helping hand. In the following years, evacuations took place from other countries: Afghanistan, Burma, Chechnya, Iraq, Cambodia, Libya, Pakistan, and Syria. In addition to the Motol University Hospital, the Bulovka University Hospital, the Královské Vinohrady University Hospital, and the General University Hospital in Prague also assisted in the care of patients.
In total, 171 foreign patients were treated in the Czech Republic under the MEDEVAC program from 1993 to 2013.
Great thanks for the establishment of MEDEVAC go primarily to its founder, the then-director of the Department of Asylum and Migration Policy of the Ministry of the Interior, PhDr. Tomáš Haišman. Thanks to his determination and immense diligence, the Czech Republic can now boast a unique program.
countries since 1993
surgeries performed
medical teams deployed abroad
Partner Hospitals
The implementation of the programme, both internationally and within the Czech Republic, involves the participation of Czech university hospitals directly under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Health:
Centre of Cardiovascular and Transplant Surgery in Brno, Bulovka University Hospital, Brno University Hospital, Hradec Králové University Hospital, University Hospital Královské Vinohrady, Olomouc University Hospital, Motol University Hospital, Thomayer University Hospital, Institute for Clinical and Experimental Medicine (IKEM), Na Homolce Hospital, General University Hospital in Prague and the Military University Hospital which falls under direct jurisdiction of the Ministry of Defence.
