World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine (WADEM)

What World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine (WADEM) does

The World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine (WADEM) is a non-profit professional membership association founded in 1976 and headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin. It is dedicated to improving disaster medicine, prehospital care, and the health aspects of emergency management and complex humanitarian crises. WADEM serves health professionals — physicians, nurses, paramedics, first responders, emergency managers, and researchers — across 55+ countries, organized through five Regional Chapters (EURO, LATAC, MENA, Oceania, SEA) and nine Special Interest Groups covering topics such as Climate Change, Infectious Diseases, Mass Gathering, Mental Health, Nursing, Pediatric Disaster Medicine, and Counter-Terrorism Medicine.

The association's core products and services are: (1) the peer-reviewed journal *Prehospital and Disaster Medicine* (PDM), published in partnership with Cambridge University Press for over 40 years, with a 2024 Impact Factor of 2.5 and 40 volumes of archived content indexed in PubMed, SCOPUS, and Web of Science; (2) the biennial Congress on Disaster and Emergency Medicine, the longest-running international congress in the field, rotating through global regions (Tokyo 2025 drew 1,250+ delegates from 80+ countries; Paris 2027 is the 24th edition); (3) a membership program with income-tiered individual dues ($75-$215 USD per year) and affiliate organization tiers ($397-$597 USD); (4) a Webinar Series, Podcast Series launched in 2018, and a Research Laboratory for research guidance; and (5) the inaugural Disaster Medicine Summer School launching in San Marino in July 2026. Technology is not proprietary; the association operates as a content, community, and event platform rather than a software vendor.

WADEM's revenue model is a non-profit mix of subscription-style membership dues (sliding scale $75-$215), biennial congress registration and corporate sponsorship, and journal publishing royalties/co-publishing revenue via Cambridge University Press. Its go-to-market is event-driven and community-led: biennial congresses drive bottom-of-funnel engagement, while webinars, podcasts, LinkedIn, YouTube, SoundCloud, and a Mailchimp newsletter sustain mid- and top-of-funnel awareness among global disaster medicine professionals, with direct online enrollment at wadem.org as the primary conversion point.

Name

World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine (WADEM)

Legal name

World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine

Website

https://wadem.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1976

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

WADEM is a non-profit professional membership association founded in 1976 that serves disaster medicine and emergency health professionals across 55+ countries through its peer-reviewed journal *Prehospital and Disaster Medicine*, a biennial international congress, educational programs, and nine Special Interest Groups.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional medical association services (disaster and emergency medicine)

NAICS

Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (54171)

SIC

Services-Misc Health & Allied Services, Nec (8090)

akta.pro primary industry

Global Health Research, Clinical Trials & Product Development Partnerships (PDPs) (HLAJAOAM)

akta.pro secondary industries

Health Systems Strengthening & Universal Health Coverage (UHC) Partnerships (HLAJAOAL), Monitoring, Evaluation, Research & Learning (MERL) for Global Health (BPADAIAO)

Keywords

• Disaster medicine association
• Emergency medicine membership
• Prehospital care education
• Medical journal publishing
• Humanitarian health conferences

Headquarters

HQ city

Madison

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: Annual membership fees paid by health professionals, ranging from $75 to $215 USD based on income level (sliding scale). Includes online access to Prehospital and Disaster Medicine journal, webinar access, registration discounts, and networking opportunities.
2. Congress Registration: Revenue from biennial international congress on Disaster and Emergency Medicine. Delegate fees for events such as Tokyo 2025 (1,250+ delegates) and upcoming Paris 2027 (expected 800-1,000 delegates).
3. Sponsorship and Exhibition: Corporate sponsorship and exhibition fees at the biennial congress, with expected 800-1,000 delegates from more than 50 countries at Paris 2027.
4. Journal Publishing: Prehospital and Disaster Medicine published by Cambridge University Press. The journal has a 2024 Impact Factor of 2.5 and is indexed in PubMed, SCOPUS, and Web of Science.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

WADEM is a nonprofit professional membership association that provides education, research dissemination, and networking services to health professionals working in disaster medicine, prehospital care, and emergency management. Its core offerings include the peer-reviewed journal Prehospital and Disaster Medicine (published with Cambridge University Press), the biennial international Congress on Disaster and Emergency Medicine, individual and affiliate memberships, webinars, podcasts, Special Interest Groups, and Regional Chapters.

Product overview

WADEM is a professional association focused on disaster medicine and emergency management, offering a portfolio of interconnected products and services. The core offerings include the Prehospital and Disaster Medicine (PDM) peer-reviewed journal published by Cambridge University Press, the biennial Congress on Disaster and Emergency Medicine, a Webinar Series, Podcast Series, and membership program. Supporting offerings include the Research Laboratory for research guidance, nine Special Interest Groups (covering areas like Climate Change, Infectious Diseases, Mass Gathering, Nursing, and Pediatric Disaster Medicine), and five Regional Chapters. The organization also runs the inaugural Disaster Medicine Summer School in San Marino starting July 2026. Membership provides access to journal subscriptions, educational content, networking, and participation in SIGs and chapters.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Prehospital and Disaster Medicine (PDM): Official peer-reviewed journal published by WADEM in partnership with Cambridge University Press
• Congress on Disaster and Emergency Medicine

Products and services

• Prehospital and Disaster Medicine (PDM) Journal
• Congress on Disaster and Emergency Medicine (Biennial) Biennial international congress bringing together global experts to share research and exchange knowledge in disaster medicine, prehospital care, and emergency management. Held in different regions worldwide, with the 24th edition scheduled for Paris 2027 (April 26-30, 2027) and the 23rd edition held in Tokyo 2025 (May 2-6, 2025) attracting 1,250+ delegates from 80+ countries.
• Webinar Series Educational webinar series covering topics in disaster medicine, emergency preparedness, public health, and related fields. Most recent webinars are available exclusively to WADEM members, with archived presentations partially accessible to the public.
• Podcast Series Podcast series featuring interviews with Prehospital and Disaster Medicine article authors and invited guests discussing topics including infectious diseases, cyber attacks on healthcare, disaster response, and counter-terrorism medicine. Distributed via the WADEM website, YouTube, and SoundCloud.
• WADEM Individual Membership Individual membership program providing online subscription to Prehospital and Disaster Medicine journal, access to webinar recordings and slide decks, congress registration discounts, global networking, voting privileges, and participation in Special Interest Groups and Regional Chapters. Four income-based fee categories range from $75 to $215 USD annually, with discounted affiliate rates from $60 to $172 USD for members of WADEM Affiliate Organizations.
• Research Laboratory Educational initiative providing information and guidance on conducting research in disaster medicine, including webinars on abstract writing, poster presentations, conference abstracts, and consensus methods, designed to support members' research capacity.
• Pre-Congress Workshops (Research Design Canvas & Infectious Diseases) Pre-congress paid training workshops held in conjunction with the biennial Congress, including a Research Design Canvas workshop ($47 USD per person, includes lunch and materials, co-hosted with University of Alberta and WHO Kobe Centre) and a four-hour Infectious Diseases workshop ($27 USD per person).
• WADEM Disaster Medicine Summer School Inaugural structured educational program designed to cultivate the next generation of global disaster and emergency medicine leaders, taking place in San Marino from July 3-5, 2026, organized by the Student and Young Professional SIG in partnership with CEMEC and CTM-E, with a planned biennial recurrence.

Quantifiable outcome

• 1,250+ delegates from 80+ countries attended Tokyo 2025 Congress
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

22 partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• European Centre for Disaster Medicine (CEMEC)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 July 2026CEMEC based in San Marino partnered with WADEM's Student and Young Professional SIG to launch the inaugural Disaster Medicine Summer School in San Marino (July 3-5, 2026). This is a structured educational program designed to cultivate the next generation of global disaster and emergency medicine leaders.
• Counter-Terrorism Medicine Europe (CTM-E)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 July 2026CTM-E partnered with WADEM's Student and Young Professional SIG for the inaugural Disaster Medicine Summer School, contributing to training the next generation of disaster medicine professionals in counter-terrorism medicine.
• Association of Schools of Public Health in the European Regions (ASPHER)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 March 2024ASPHER partnered with WADEM and ECDM to convene the 'Enhancing European Public Health Preparedness, Prehospital, and Disaster Medicine' colloquium at the EU Parliament in Brussels on March 25, 2024.
• European Council of Disaster Medicine (ECDM)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 March 2024ECDM co-convened the Brussels colloquium with ASPHER and WADEM focused on European public health preparedness and disaster medicine curriculum enhancement.
• Japanese Association for Disaster MedicinemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-hosting organization for WADEM congresses, including Tokyo 2025 (WADEM's first congress in Asia since 2011).
• Queensland University of Technology (QUT)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-hosting organization for WADEM congresses historically, supporting academic and research collaboration.
• Sunnybrook Health Sciences CentremajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-hosting organization for WADEM congresses, bringing Canadian healthcare expertise to the events.
• Emergency Medicine Society of South AfricamajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-hosting organization for WADEM congresses, contributing African emergency medicine perspective.
• Humanitarian and Conflict Response InstitutemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-hosting organization for WADEM congresses, providing humanitarian response expertise.
• Chinese Emergency Medicine SocietymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-hosting organization for WADEM congresses, contributing Asian emergency medicine expertise.
• Royal College of Surgeons of EdinburghmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-hosting organization for WADEM congresses, providing surgical and emergency medicine education expertise.
• WHO Kobe CentrecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWHO Kobe Centre organizes special sessions at WADEM congresses and co-hosts the Research Design Canvas Workshop with University of Alberta and WADEM for the Tokyo 2025 congress.
• University of AlbertacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity of Alberta co-hosts the Research Design Canvas Workshop with WHO Kobe Centre and WADEM. Dr. Jeffrey Franc serves as Research Director in the Department of Emergency Medicine at University of Alberta.
• ARCH ProjectmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerARCH Project organized special sessions at the Tokyo 2025 Congress and received the WADEM Humanitarian Award for Excellence in Disaster Management.
• World Society of Disaster NursingmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWorld Society of Disaster Nursing organized special sessions at the Tokyo 2025 Congress, contributing nursing expertise to the disaster medicine community.
• International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerICRC organized special sessions at the Tokyo 2025 Congress, bringing humanitarian law and conflict medicine perspective.
• Kyoto UniversitymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerKyoto University organized special sessions at the Tokyo 2025 Congress.
• Tohoku UniversitymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTohoku University organized special sessions at the Tokyo 2025 Congress.
• BIDMC Disaster Medicine FellowshipmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBIDMC Disaster Medicine Fellowship organized special sessions and workshops at the Killarney 2023 Congress.
• NO-FEAR ProjectmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNO-FEAR Project (Cooperative Action to Respond to Cross-Border Emergencies) organized special sessions at the Killarney 2023 Congress.
• CRIMEDIM - Center for Research and Training in Disaster MedicinecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDr. Jeffrey Franc serves as Chief Statistician at CRIMEDIM (Università del Piemonte Orientale, Italy). CRIMEDIM faculty contribute to WADEM podcasts and publications.
• Cambridge University PresscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCambridge University Press publishes Prehospital and Disaster Medicine on behalf of WADEM. The journal is indexed in PubMed, SCOPUS, and Web of Science with a 2024 Impact Factor of 2.5.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• World Federation of Emergency and Trauma Care (WFETC, WHO Liasion): WHO-affiliated body convening emergency and trauma care stakeholders globally. Comparable international convening function but lower visible operating footprint than WADEM.
• World Federation of Societies of Intensive and Critical Care Medicine: International federation focused on intensive and critical care medicine, with overlapping clinician members and disaster/critical care research themes. Competes for some of the same physician and nursing membership in the emergency/critical care interface.

Direct peers

• Society for Academic Emergency Medicine (SAEM): Academic emergency medicine society publishing peer-reviewed journals and hosting annual meetings for emergency medicine researchers and educators. Comparable journal-and-congress operating model focused on the same core professional audience.
• International Federation of Emergency Medicine (IFEM): Global federation of national emergency medicine societies that convenes an international congress and standards-setting bodies. Direct overlap with WADEM on international emergency medicine membership, congresses, and policy advocacy.
• National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians (NAEMT): US prehospital emergency medicine professional association for EMTs and paramedics. Directly comparable membership/congress/education model for the prehospital subset of WADEM's audience.
• European Society for Emergency Medicine (EUSEM): European emergency medicine society hosting the annual European Emergency Medicine Congress with research publication tracks. Directly competes for European emergency medicine researcher and clinician members and abstracts.

Others

• World Health Organization (WHO): UN specialized health agency that convenes global health policy and co-hosts WADEM programs (e.g., WHO Kobe Centre workshops). A key ecosystem partner and policy influencer rather than a peer association, but operates in adjacent global health space.
• International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC): Major humanitarian organization that operates within disaster and conflict medicine and is an active WADEM congress partner. Not a peer in association/peer-reviewed publishing but a strategically linked ecosystem participant.

Broad incumbents

• American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP): The largest US emergency medicine professional association, with broader clinical, advocacy, and practice-management scope. While more clinically focused and US-centric, it competes for the same physician membership base and publishes Annals of Emergency Medicine.
• World Medical Association (WMA): Global federation of national medical associations representing physicians broadly. Operates at a higher aggregation level but targets an overlapping international physician audience and convenes policy forums.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@WADEM_PDM
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-world-association-of-disaster-and-emergency-medicine
• Xx.com/wadem_pdm
• Facebookfacebook.com/wadem.pdm

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine (WADEM)