Our Mission
LFR International is an internationally registered nonprofit organization that develops community-based emergency medical services (EMS) in resource-limited environments. By empowering transportation providers as Lay First Responders, LFR International facilitates the sustainable development of EMS infrastructure in a research-informed, systematic progression of levels toward formal, professional emergency medical services.
The Problem
Prehospital EMS for traumatic injuries are vital to ensuring public health and community wellbeing. While the presence of EMS in high-income nations is taken for granted, most low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) have no formal prehospital EMS. Currently, tens of thousands of communities lack the financial resources and medical support needed to implement EMS systems on a local level, which requires culturally-sensitive solutions that are locally-informed and have high local stakeholder involvement.
The Facts
Injury is the leading cause of death globally for individuals between the ages of 15 and 45, disproportionately affecting low- and middle-income countries where 90% of these deaths occur. Approximately six million people die each year as a result, accounting for 10% of the world’s deaths, more than the number of fatalities from malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS combined. An additional 58 million sustain lifelong injuries that permanently affect their quality of life.
Our Beginnings
In 2016, our Co-Founder and board chair, Peter Delaney, witnessed the impact that lay first responder programs can have on low- and middle- income communities first-hand while in Uganda. After implementing what would evolve into the LFR model, Peter was inspired to not only continue this work himself, but to provide others with the framework and resources to serve the global community. Along with our Co-Founder and Executive Director, Zachary Eisner, LFR International was founded to develop a framework allowing passionate emergency medical providers to contribute to the global community in a meaningful way. LFR International, an organization that encompassed both the global need for emergency medical services and the passion of emergency medical providers was born.
Our Vision
We envision a world where no one will die from treatable injuries. By 2025, LFR will have trained, equipped, and deployed over 12,000 first responders in low- and middle-income countries worldwide. But our work has only just begun…
In order to produce and sustain a growing number of international projects, LFR will form new partnerships with academic, governmental, and non-governmental organizations to continue recruiting first responders, build out formal emergency medical services in our program locations, and influence policy that positively affects emergency care worldwide. By 2032, LFR hopes to have a presence in the majority of low- and middle-income countries in order to prevent the millions of needless deaths that occur due to injury every year.