International guidelines for the successful organisation of humanitarian medical missions (HMMs) during peacetime

The inaugural International Conference on Humanitarian Medical Mission (ICHMM) was held in Singapore from 30 October to 1 November 2014. Over 300 delegates from 16 countries participated in the conference. The conference theme was “Volunteers Beyond Borders”. It highlighted the scope of humanitarian activities across all medical disciplines and brought many medical volunteers beyond borders together to exchange and interact. The scope was confined to peacetime medical missions. The international guidelines for the successful organisation of humanitarian medical missions during peacetime was developed as a direct consequence of this conference. Prior to the conference, seven different organisations and well-known individuals involved in humanitarian work were surveyed. The results of the survey formed the basis of these guidelines. The content of the guidelines is divided into the following sections: 1) Requests for humanitarian aid; 2) Organisation of an HMM in response to a request; 3) Funding of an HMM; 4) Organising a team and team composition; 5) Protection of team members; 6) Quality assurance and outcomes documentation; 7) Education and training during HMM; 8) Anticipation of difficulties and limiting factors; 9) Attributes of a good volunteer; 10) Dos and don’ts; and 11) A checklist. It is hoped that this set of guidelines will be of assistance to budding health care volunteers who wish to embark on humanitarian medical mission.