

“One in six children in the world live in a conflict zone and are at risk of injury from explosive or ballistic trauma” – Save the Children
According to figures from the UN, there has been a ‘marked increase’ in the killing and maiming of children living in conflict zones, with the number of UN-verfied cases having risen by 300 percent since 2010.
And yet, there has been very little coordinated research into the treatment and recovery of children living in these conflict settings.
Luckily, our 2019 World Extreme Medicine Conference guest speaker Michael Von Bertele addressed this issue and so much more…
Michael joined us on Day 2 to discuss his efforts as part of a wider collaborative with Save the Children to improve the care of children living in conflict by developing a common set of data that can be used to standardise treatment and research.
Michael has heaps of experience in the humanitarian world – he worked for two years as Humanitarian Director for Save the Children International, leading humanitarian responses in the Philippines, the Middle East, Central Africa and Nepal, and in 2014 he led STC’s Ebola response in West Africa, supervising the establishment of the DFID funded Ebola treatment centre at Kerry Town in Sierra Leone. We couldn’t think of anyone better to discuss the next step in protecting one of the most vulnerable groups caught in the crossfire.
The essentials:
Who: Michael Von Bertele
What: ‘Improving the Care of Children in Conflict’
When: Day 2 (Sunday 24th November)
Where: Biosphere
Join us this year where for the first time in WEM history, we’re hosting #VirtualWEM20 a virtual conference on Saturday 17th & Sunday 18th October 2020 – so you can be inspired from the comfort of your sofa (or, frankly, from wherever in the world you can get online). Book your place today!