It was a particularly complicated day. Professor Liviana Da Dalt, director of the Department of Women’s and Children’s Health of the Azienda Ospedale-Università di Padova, explains: “Guaranteeing all the numerous children a bed for hospitalization required a great effort today, but we succeeded. We are facing a very important respiratory virus epidemic. We also have Covid, but it affects little except for organization. This year, the winter season infections are very early; as a result, some young infants who are usually prophylactic in early fall, such as those born prematurely, have not received it yet this year, so they are very affected.” I confess that just today I thought of Africa, where, in crowded conditions, I have repeatedly seen two small infants placed in the same crib! Liviana does not shy away from questions, she argues with firm calmness, trying to find the right words.
Why is it important to participate in the Cuamm Annual Meeting?
“The Annual Meeting is an opportunity for enrichment. You leave with new energy, with a charge, with a determination to do better, certainly with Africa and for Africa, but also in your daily commitment here at home. At the Annual Meeting, there is a very special atmosphere, from a certain point of view, also an air of celebration. It is a moment of encounter, a meeting of friends, people who, even if they do not know each others, share the pride of working alongside Doctors with Africa Cuamm in its projects and commitment in Africa.
It is a moment to stop and listen to testimonials of true stories, of concrete commitment, courage and passion. From many points of view: some of them experienced, more mature people with longer experience, but also young people whom it is wonderful to meet after their first experience in Africa and feel that their vocation and dreams have been fulfilled. All are models of enthusiasm, sharing and generosity. This reinforces us and gives us energy.
But it is also a moment of knowledge and updating on the activities of Cuamm, which gives a serious account of its projects and the results of the “Mothers and children first” program in which we have been deeply involved too as doctors dedicated to children. A moment of overview that also makes us see the greatness of Cuamm and reinforces the determination and pride of being close to it. Sometimes you work so hard and lose the big picture. Then it’s time to stop and immerse oneself in the marvelous reality of Doctors with Africa Cuamm, which, despite all the hard work, conveys a commitment, enthusiasm and contagious passion that everyone takes home with them after those two hours spent together.
What does it mean to start again after, and in some ways within, this pandemic?
“I’m responding with a pediatric perspective, as someone who represents other people who care for children and moms. It is important to start again because with this pandemic, the children in Africa need us even more, but also we, in a certain way, need Africa. We know this: the pandemic has increased inequalities, delayed access to treatment, reduced the efficiency of already fragile services in Africa and had a negative impact on the health status of children and mothers. This is a reality that we are aware of and that requires a renewed commitment to stay close, to make a small contribution even with our young JPOs. I always teach my medical students, when they begin courses in pediatrics, that the majority of the world’s children are in the hemisphere below us, and that it is there that the most disadvantaged, most neglected children are. That’s why going to work in Africa as JPO is even more important.
But it’s also important for us: we feel better, we feel part of a much larger project, in line with the UN’s third objective of sustainable development “to ensure health and well-being”, a key objective of a truly global vision. In fact, for us, the pandemic has strongly interrupted the JPO project that we have embraced for over 15 years, during which time there has not been a day when there was not one of our residents in Africa; only the pandemic has managed to stop us! Starting again now is extremely important: it is a project of great value for the support we offer to children in Africa and also for our training schools. This is the added value of an experience in Africa: from learning about different diseases, to learning a new way of approaching them, to understanding the health needs of children in developing countries, to understanding what international cooperation is all about. This helps doctors to be more aware, both for those who leave and those who stay, because those who return talk about Africa and make others aware of these issues. We need this too!
Restarting now means having new awareness: the management of a pandemic has certainly changed our organizations, has required creativity and flexibility in finding new models of care. The Covid-19 pandemic was a model of how to have a global vision of diseases. It certainly taught us a lot, it showed us how infectious diseases can actually be a threat to the health of the world, and how a new mentality is needed, a new way of approaching such wide-ranging issues”.
Starting over with what dimension, with that value?
“The determination, the enthusiasm, the courage, we give them already consolidated. But now we have a greater awareness of how we need to be able to adapt to new realities that change, even very rapidly, to be flexible and creative in finding solutions. Africa test you in this regard and stimulates these attitudes, which are so important in our countries as well.
Frank Houndjahoue, Cuamm pediatrician from Bangui, in the Central African Republic, will also be coming to Padua to experience the Annual Meeting together.
Why is it important to participate in the Cuamm Annual Meeting?
The Annual Meeting is an opportunity to take stock of a year’s work in the field, to present the results achieved and the prospects for intervention in the various countries in which Cuamm operates. It allows us to compare the different realities, including that of the Central African Republic, each with its own difficulties, and to demonstrate the impact of Cuamm’s intervention in the last mile. I’ve never been to Italy before, so for me coming to the Annual Meeting will also be an opportunity to visit Cuamm’s headquarters and discuss things in person with colleagues, but also to meet the teams working in other countries in order to have fruitful exchanges of opinions and experiences.
What does it mean to restart after, and in some ways within, this pandemic?
Restarting, as the word implies, is a “starting again”, it indicates continuity but also announces a new phase. It implies a “new beginning”, but also “a new impetus”. A new departure must certainly remember the past, internalize the sense of a mission for an organization, but also for each individual person, and apply it to the changed context in order to be able to project into the future. In short, it is made up of fidelity, it is like going back to the origins, back home, so to speak, and at the same time of innovation, of adaptation to change.
Start again with what dimension, with that value?
My wish is to start again with determination!
