Johanniter volunteers support measures against COVID-19 in Kosovo
Berlin, 21 September 2020
A team of 15 medical experts led by the Robert Koch Institute is travelling to Kosovo today to assist in the fight against COVID-19. Three Johanniter volunteers will be part of the team.
Johanniter, humedica, ISAR Germany are sending a joint "Emergency Medical Team" (EMT) to Kosovo under the leadership of the Robert Koch Institute. Together with experts from the Charité University Medical Centre, the University Medical Centre Hamburg Eppendorf and the Command Medical Service of the German Armed Forces, a 15-member medical team under the leadership of the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) will support and train local staff in infection control as well as in the treatment of COVID-19 patients. The coordination of the mission will be handled by the National Focal Point for Emergency Medical Teams, which is located at the RKI.
The Johanniter are looking forward to being part of the joint team. Our three Johanniter volunteers will help with their expertise in Kosovo, as they have already proven during an emergency mission in Mozambique.
Johanniter volunteers as part of the expert team
The three emergency responders include the doctor Lorena Steinbach (Johanniter Regionalverband Rhein-Main), paramedic Julian Schulz (Johanniter Regionalverband Köln) and emergency paramedic Ragino Fagner (Regionalverband Weser-Ems). All three had already been active for Johanniter in Mozambique after cyclone Idai.
"Unfortunately, medical care in Kosovo does not meet our German standards. The few intensive medical treatment options are now exhausted. I therefore hope that the mission will enable us to do educational work, among other things, to ensure that fewer people become infected. Medical personnel in Kosovo are particularly affected by COVID-19," says Lorena Steinbach.
All three are also very much looking forward to exchanging ideas with colleagues whom one would not have met under normal conditions. "We are eager to learn how work is done in this part of Europe", say Julian Schulz and Ragino Fagner.
The joint Emergency Medical Team will leave Berlin on Monday for Pristina, Kosovo, and stay in the country for a fortnight.
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