The establishment of MULTHEOR was began with Technical Expert Meeting for Establishing Health Emergencies Operational Readiness Training Hub in World Health Organization (WHO) Head Quarter, Geneve, Switzerland, April 21st, 2022,. The Indonesian Delegation was led by Rector of Republic of Indonesia Defense University, Vice Admiral Prof. Dr. Ir. Amarulla Octavian, M.Sc., DESD., Asian Eng., Indonesian Navy and the member of team consist of Dean of Faculty of Military Pharmacy, Prof. Dr. apt. Yahdiana Harahap, M.S., Vice Dean of Faculty of Military Medicie, Col. Dr.dr. Wawan Mulyawan Sp BS (K),Sp KP, Director of Health of Ministry of Defense Republic of Indonesia, First Marshall dr. Budi Satriyo Utomo, Sp. KFR., MARS., apt. Roy Himawan, S.Farm, M.K.M. and dr. Ira Cyndira Tresna, M.I.Kom. from Ministry of Health. Beside the technical expert meeting, Indonesian Delegation also visited the EMT Type 2 in Cuneo, Turino, Italy accompanied by WHO Team. RIDU was proposed to become an Emergency Medical Team (EMT) Training and Knowledge Center according to WHO standards for national and regional interests. WHO also emphasized the importance of Biodefense to anticipate future pandemics as well as the dangers of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) which is an important curriculum in training. It is known, that Biodefense has Bio-intelligence and Biosecurity components that can be described in several training modules that proposed by RIDU.

In August 2022, WHO Head Quarter with WHO SEARO and WHO Country Office led by Dr. Flavio Salio as the Head of EMT Network visited RIDU, Bogor, West Java, to conduct the Scoping Mission for Emergency Medical Teams (EMT) Training and Knowledge Center in RIDU. The technical units of WHO visit RIDU to do the Scoping Missions including of the key objectives:

1. Review the requirements for an optimal set-up of the training hub in relation to existing capacity;
2. Clarify and organize legal, administrative, financial and managerial aspects of the training hub;
3. Discuss/finalize plans for development of the hub and implementation of pilot training and
4. Meet with key partners engaged in the development of curriculum of training hub and finalize training content to be piloted.

The result of the scoping mission will then be the basis for the start of the establishment of the EMT Training and Knowledge Center at RIDU which will be implemented in early February 2023.

Multi-country EMT training and knowledge hubs are already functioning in other WHO regions and are a key modality for ensuring that national capacities are adequate and operational to respond to health emergencies swiftly, safely, and with high quality. The immediate purpose for establishing multi-country training and knowledge hubs is to enhance the technical and operational skills and knowledge of EMT members and other health officers using a simulation-based and team approach. In the longer term, the aim is to improve the timeliness and quality of health services provided by national and international EMTs for all health emergencies and thus enhance the capacity of national health systems to lead the activation and coordination of responses to crises.

Rector of the Republic of Indonesia Defense University, Vice Admiral Prof. Dr. Ir. Amarulla Octavian, M.Sc., DESD., Asian Eng., Indonesian Navy and Dean of Faculty of Military Pharmacy, Prof. Dr. apt. Yahdiana Harahap, M.S. with the other Indonesia Delegation from Indonesian Armed Forces Surgeon General and Muhammagiyah Disaster Management Center attended The Emergency Medical Teams (EMT) Global Meeting held in Yerevan, Armenia from October 3rd to 7th, 2022. It was a significant event in the realm of international emergency response and preparedness. The gathering brought together representatives from various countries, international organizations, NGOs, and stakeholders involved in emergency medical response. This facilitated cross-border collaboration, sharing of expertise, and the establishment of partnerships to enhance emergency preparedness and response globally. In this moment, Rector of RIDU delivered the speech about “Indonesian Experience in Establishment EMT Training and Knowledge Hub” and Dean of Faculty of Military Pharmacy also involved in panel discussion.

Indonesia was offered to host a Multi-Country Training Hub for Health Emergency Operational Readiness, including Emergency Medical Teams (EMTs) in Indonesia. This Multi-country of Health Emergencies Operational Readiness (MULTHEOR) Training and Knowledge Hub was initiated by the Minister of Defense considered the importance of strengthening country-level operational readiness for health emergencies that can contribute to regional and global levels of readiness. The EMT 2030 strategy envisions a world in which every country has the capacity to respond rapidly and effectively to national emergencies, leveraging regional and sub-regional capacities to support vulnerable communities. The Republic of Indonesia is taking concrete steps towards this goal with the launch of the hub. Prior to this, the Minister of Defense explored the collaboration with WHO in November 2020 and conducted a follow-up meeting with the WHO Director-General in June 2021. Civil-military collaboration has emerged as one of the most reliable partnerships during an emergency. The agreement will explore improving civil-military cooperation, the dissemination of EMT medical standards, research and development efforts.

For official collaboration between Republic of Indonesia and WHO, the MoU was signed by Indonesian Minister of Defense Ir. Prabowo Subianto, Minister of Health Ir. Budi Gunadi Sadikin and WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in conjunction with the implementation of the G20 activities held in Nusa Dua Bali, Indonesia, on 15 November 2022.

Also present in this event were the Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs, Prof. Dr. H. Moh. Mahfud Mahmodin, S.H., S.U., M.I.P., who represents the President of the Republic of Indonesia, the WHO Regional Director for South-East Asia, Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, the WHO Country Representative to Indonesia, Dr N. Paranietharan and and officials from the Ministries of Defense, Health, Foreign Affairs, and the delegation from the Republic of Indonesia Defense University (RIDU). This initiative was also supported by WHO Headquarters, WHO South-East Asia Regional Office and Country Office in Indonesia.

The Republic of Indonesia and the World Health Organization (WHO) have agreed to establish a multi-country training and knowledge hub for health emergency operational readiness and Emergency Medical Teams (EMTs). The new training and knowledge hub will increase the capacity of Indonesia, other countries in Asia, and beyond to act quickly when an emergency strikes. The Minister of Defense designated this multi-country training and knowledge hub to be hosted by the Republic of Indonesia Defense University, located in Sentul, Bogor, West Java, Indonesia. It is mandated to improve the regional capacity in emergency operational readiness for all hazardous health emergencies, regardless of whether the emergency is due to natural occurrence, human trigged, accidental, or deliberate actions. The multi-country training and knowledge hub consists of three kinds of training areas, that is Public Health Emergency, Medical and Logistical Management, and Medico-Socio-Economic Aspects with the biodefense perspective. The multi-country training hub offers 3 courses and one of these is the Emergency Medical Teams.

The MoU that already signed was implemented by Visiting Mission on 30-31 January 2023 in RIDU, Salemba, Jakarta, led by Dr. Flavio Sallio from WHO Head Quarter. The aim of this mission was to discuss the preaparation of training agenda in 2023 including the curriculum, the learning method, and the logistics. The activities agenda in 2023 consist of 3 trainings of Team Member Induction and Training of Trainer and EMT Cell Coordination as well as a Workshop of Civil Military Collaboration on Health Emergency Response.