Deploying a military emergency medical team in flood response: operational lessons from Orkadiéré, Senegal

In October 2024, exceptional flooding along the Senegal River, exacerbated by unusual rainfall and dam releases from the Manantali and Diama infrastructures, directly affected approximatively 55,600 people across the Matam, Saint-Louis and Tambacounda regions and severely disrupted healthcare access in dozens of inundated communities. The Senegalese Armed Forces deployed a World Health Organization Type 1 Emergency Medical Team (EMT) to Orkadiéré, a strategic locality in the Matam region selected through a joint pre-deployment assessment with local civilian health and administrative authorities. Over 16 days (16–31 October 2024), a ten-member team comprising three physicians, a senior nurse, two nurses, two nursing assistants, an administrative officer and a driver—supported by dedicated military logistics and security units—delivered 360 documented medical consultations, conducted field missions to riverine communities accessible only by pirogue, and maintained active epidemiological surveillance for epidemic-prone diseases. This commentary reflects on four operational lessons derived through formal after-action reporting within the military chain of command: joint pre-deployment assessment for site selection; multidisciplinary team composition; separation of logistical from clinical functions; and epidemiological surveillance from mission day one. It also examines the civil-military coordination model and implications for institutionalising military humanitarian medical capacity within the Senegalese Armed Forces.