Overview

The WHO Global Alliance for Care of the Injured (GACI) is a network of governmental and intergovernmental organizations as well as nongovernmental organizations, including professional societies, working internationally, who collaborate to improve care for the injured across the spectrum of prehospital and hospital care and rehabilitation of the injured. The main aim of GACI is to save millions of lives and minimize the devastating consequences of injuries by strengthening trauma care systems.

Vision

• Lifesaving care at the scene
• Timely treatment of injuries
• Restoration of function and independence

GACI’s vision is to provide guidance and support to governments to significantly improve care of the injured in a sustainable and affordable manner through systematic provision of essential trauma services. These services should be available to every injured person in any location without regard to their personal characteristics or ability to pay. 

Every year, over five million people die from road traffic crashes, violence, and other causes of injury. Millions more suffer lifelong disability and lost economic productivity. Injury accounts for 11% of the total global burden of disease. By far the greatest part of the burden of death and disability from injury, approximately 90%, occurs in low- and middle-income countries.

Preventing injuries is essential, but improving access and quality of trauma care can also reduce this burden significantly. Gross disparities in outcome of injury exist between low- and middle-income countries and high-income countries. For example, people with life-threatening but survivable injuries are six times more likely to die in a low-income setting (36% mortality) than in a high-income setting (6% mortality).

In an effort to diminish such inequalities and to improve care of the injured globally, WHO has taken several steps.

• Published guidance documents on technical aspects of planning prehospital and hospital-based trauma care services.
• Developed and implemented the WHO Emergency Care Toolkit to improve quality of care delivery for the injured.
• Published, disseminated and supported implementation of the WHO/ICRC Basic Emergency Care course in over 60 countries.
• Developed powerful tools to assist countries in creating packages for trauma service delivery across all levels of the health system.
• Expanded tools for referral pathways and integration of rehabilitation into the health system, including the trauma pathway.
• Provided practical resources to manage the surge in demand during mass casualty incidents or larger scale health emergencies including conflict.

WHO has also provided on-the-ground assistance to many Ministries of Health on implementation of resources and tools.

However, much more remains to be done.

What is needed is strengthening the health system to deliver the continuum of trauma services, including prehospital care and transport, initial care in emergency departments, definitive hospital-based care, and long-term rehabilitation back to active life. Across all of these points of the spectrum, there is a need for greater attention to detail in planning human resources (staffing and training), physical resources (equipment and supplies), and administration (such as quality improvement programmes). Such improvements could save the lives of 2 million injured people each year.

In order to promote these improvements, government leaders adopted World Health Assembly (WHA) resolution 76.2 'Integrated emergency, critical and operative care for universal health coverage and protection from health emergencies'. In 2024 the WHA called for a Global Strategy and Action Plan to facilitate implementation of ECO services, including trauma care.  

GACI is a workgroup based collaboration of international organisations with an expert focus on care of the injured.

Providing there is no conflict of interest, participation is open to governmental, intergovernmental, and nongovernmental organisations, including international professional societies.

Participant organizations must:

• Agree to promote the provisions of World Health Assembly resolution 76.2.
• Promote delivery of essential trauma services that are available to all injured persons globally.
• Be international in their governance and scope of activities.

Single country professional societies and universities (with the exception of recognized WHO Collaborating Centres) are not eligible at this time.

Single government agencies, such as ministries and injury/emergency care directorates are eligible to participate.