Dr Ian Norton, founder and Managing Director of Respond Global, is a specialist emergency physician and passionate humanitarian with a wealth of experience in coordinating emergency health responses to disease outbreaks and disasters.

Ian was head of the WHO’s Emergency Medical Team (EMT) Initiative in Geneva from 2014-20. During this time, he led responses to Ebola, Diphtheria and Measles outbreaks as well as to earthquakes, cyclones, and war zones. He is lead author of the WHO standards by which Emergency Medical Teams deploy, as well as chairing various working groups that set standards for emergency care in trauma, outbreaks, rehabilitation and most recently the care of burns victims in mass casualty events.

Previous to the WHO, Ian led the creation of disaster response teams in Australia and was the Director of Disaster Preparedness and Response at the National Critical Care & Trauma Response Centre (NCCTRC) in Darwin. During this time he helped write the Australian Trauma and Burns response plans and conduct Australia’s disaster readiness audits. Ian helped establish the Australian Medical Assistance Teams (AUSMAT) framework and designed the field hospitals that are today used for international disaster and infectious disease responses. He led response teams to Pakistan Floods, Typhoon Haiyan in Philippines, Dengue outbreaks in the Solomons and the response to Australia’s most remote burns incident the Ashmore Reef Boat explosion 2009.

Ian established Respond Global in early 2020 with the aim of empowering others to be able to plan, prepare and respond to health emergencies in their own countries. He and his team are currently assisting numerous organisations and Governments with outbreak and disaster preparation and response.