Emergency Medical Stockpile (Arab Union)


 * "Emergency National Stockpile" redirects here. For the United States stockpile, see Strategic National Stockpile.

The Arab National Emergency Medical Stockpile (Arabic: المخزون الطبية الطارئة الوطنية العربية al-makhzūn aṭ-ṭibbīyah aṭ-ṭarā’ah al-waṭanīyah al-‘arabīyah) is the Arab Union's national stockpile of medications and medical equipment to be used in the event of a medical crisis (such as a pandemic) or other crises with a medical implication (such as war or natural disaster), in order to supplement National Health Authority (NHA) resources in short supply. The Emergency Medical Stockpile consists of all basic medications (like antibiotics, morphine and other painkillers, anaesthetics, insulin, blood, etc.), vaccines (for common flu, SARS, H1N1, Hepatitis A and B, etc.), specialised medications (like interferon for treatment of Hepatitis C and antiretrovirals to treat HIV/AIDS), as well as a plethora of medical instruments and machines including respirators, x-ray and CT scanners, laboratory equipment, basic tools like syringes, tubing, masks, gloves and sanitisers, and most other equipment.

The Emergency Medical Stockpile is overseen by the Director of the Public Health Budget, who is responsible for compiling and maintaining the stockpile according to NHA targets as well as administering the stockpile's opening during times of crisis. Current Ministry of Health policy requires the Emergency Medical Stockpile be capable of immediately replenishing a full one-third of all listed equipment currently operated by the NHA. This means, in theory, that a national crisis should be able to deplete the Arab Union's entire public health apparatus of up to 33% of its medications and equipment before the stockpile cannot immediately make up for the difference. However, the Emergency Medical Stockpile also includes a strategic system for immediately replenishment as soon as the stockpile begins to be used, meaning that even a relatively rapid use of the entire stockpile would not ever completely deplete the stockpile; the timeline to refill the stockpile from an empty state was measured in 2017 at 155 days; this means that, if it took a crisis 155 days or more to empty the stockpile of its original contents, it would be fully refilled by then at the latest.