The World Extreme Medicine Fund (WEM Fund) presented at the 2026 Emergency Services Show in Birmingham on 16-17 September, supporting the event's new Resilience360 theme aimed at improving urgent care and response across UK emergency services.
Co-founded by Manchester-based advanced paramedic practitioner Luca Alfatti and global medical leader Professor Mark Hannaford, the charity has been delivering humanitarian aid, frontline medical capability, and trauma training throughout the Ukraine conflict since 2022.
While the WEM Fund team shared their experiences adapting under sustained operational pressure at the show, 75 medics were simultaneously completing hands-on Combat Casualty Care training in Lviv, Ukraine. This training is part of WEM Fund's partnerships with local organisations including Ukraine's Ministry of Youth and Sports and the Ivan Boberskyi Lviv State University of Physical Culture, which help strengthen medical knowledge and collaboration in the region.
Since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion, the charity's approach has evolved from delivering trauma kits and basic guidance to addressing complex challenges such as managing pain, infection, airway compromise, hypothermia, and ongoing haemorrhage over extended periods in difficult conditions.
At the Emergency Services Show, Luca Alfatti and Professor Mark Hannaford joined Richard Lewis, Chief Operations Officer of World Extreme Medicine, to discuss how Ukraine has become a critical learning environment for emergency medicine, leadership, and organisational resilience. They emphasised the need for emergency services to continually adapt as the nature of conflict and crises evolve.
2026 marks the fourth anniversary of the WEM Fund, which has delivered nearly £5 million in trauma aid and trained over 1,778 frontline medical personnel. The charity's work in Ukraine has been recognised with three humanitarian medals awarded to team members, reflecting its impact in building sustainable, locally informed medical capabilities.
Reflecting on their experience, Luca Alfatti said, "Training someone to hold a casualty for days under threat is not just a clinical skill. It carries a human cost and any organisation serious about preparedness has to plan for that cost, not just the procedure."
The WEM Fund operates in Ukraine under Humanitas (UK Registered Charity No. 1114639).
