Category: News

START AGAIN WITH…|ALBERTO MANTOVANI E NOEMI BAZZANINI

Posted on by Redazione Cuamm

Alberto Mantovani, President of the Humanitas Foundation for Research, has from the outset supported Doctors with Africa Cuamm for the vaccination campaign in Africa, promoting this great challenge.

Why is it important to participate in the Annual Meeting?

I participate to share, contribute and thank. For example, to share the vision of “with” and the goal of transforming a vaccine into a vaccination. To contribute what little I know. To thank the people of Cuamm for what they do and represent, even in my place.

What does restarting mean to you?

For me, leaving means taking up the challenge of research, of teaching in presence, and of knowledge. Of crossing the not knowing in the service of science and health, and of shared health.

Starting over “with”…?

I have many “with”: with members of my family, with members of my laboratory who are my teachers, with civil society organizations who live “with”, from the organizations in my neighborhood to Cuamm.

 

Noemi Bazzanini, took part to the mission in Tanzania as part of a project on chronic diseases. An infectiologist, on the front line in the Covid-19 emergency at Parma Hospital, in 2018 she had served with Doctors with Africa Cuamm as a Jpo and then as a doctor in infectious diseases in Shinyanga and Songambele, Tanzania.

Why is it important to attend the Annual Meeting?

It is an important moment to do advocacy: being many people, selling out in person, means expressing a greater commitment and awareness, to move something at the level of public opinion and institutions.

What does it mean for you to start again?

I’m returning to a country where I’ve already been, even if in a different place, after about two years, the time of Covid. Every time you go, it’s always starting something new, it requires all the commitment of new things, uti t also gives you the hope of doing well. It’s a great opportunity, it gives a strong charge!

Starting over “with”…?

I’ll be working a little bit on the ward, a little bit in the outpatient department, but the newest part will be working with the Jpo’s, I’ll have to measure up. I would say with the ability to get back on top of everything and rediscover.

 

Translation: Giulia Mascia
Communication and Media Relations Officer

START AGAIN WITH…|GIUSEPPE LATERZA AND FEDERICO FAMA

Posted on by Redazione Cuamm

Giuseppe Laterza, editor, will be with us at the Annual Meeting to give voice to Africa. He tells us about his idea of restarting, during this global pandemic that we are all still going through and how important it is to restart with others, starting with those less fortunate than us, such as our African brothers, so as not to leave anyone behind.

Why is it important to attend the Annual Meeting?

After such a long period of separation, which for many has unfortunately been a period of loneliness and even suffering, being in Padua again with the Cuamm community is not only a joy for the spirit but also a propellant/incentive/stimulus of that solidarity-based imagination that we need and will need in the coming years.

What does starting again mean to you?

Restart is a word that evokes many images and feelings. This global pandemic has opened our eyes to what Cuamm has known and practiced for many years in the work of many volunteers every day: our health is global and does not depend only on medicine or health conditions, but on many complex factors: demographics, economic conditions and many others. I think that starting from this teaching, we need to rethink ourselves as part of a global network, with which we need to constantly dialogue.

Starting again “with”…?

I would say with others, with all the others, no one excluded.

One of our authors, a great philosopher, Zygmunt Bauman wrote in his books that today there are in the world – but also at home – ‘discards of humanity’: those people cut off from civil and social life only because they are not useful to production and are not valued by the market, as Pope Francis also often says. I think we need to dialogue with them first! As Cuamm does and as it has done in many years of work.

Dante Carraro explains this very well in his book with Paolo Di Paolo: taking care of others, starting with those less fortunate than us, especially our African brothers and sisters, enriches us. This is not a rhetorical phrase: it makes us better because we will have cultivated the essence of our humanity. It seems like a simple concept, but in reality it is not easy. This testimony has to be showed, shared, with the right words, popularized and extended to a wider audience. The alliance between the world of culture with Cuamm and the other associations that work in the field is fundamental from this point of view. The world of culture cannot only rework something that is perhaps produced in the university, in research or by imaginative writers. It must embrace the totality of activities and share them so that they can reach many, many, if not all.

The pandemic has taught us that our health is global and Federico Fama, National President of Seism, knows it well. He testifies to the commitment of medical students who take up every day the great challenge of stimulating a cultural change, especially among young people, to become active players in promoting the right to health for all.

Why is it important to participate in the Annual Meeting?

Participating in the Annual Meeting is a ritual moment to give a face to the enormous work carried out by Cuamm year after year. Doing Global Health also means having opportunities to compare all the different realities and figures that deal with health, and the Annual Meeting is almost a holiday in this sense: it allows us to meet, to share together, and to grow.

This is also our opportunity to reaffirm our commitment as medical students to a great cause such as the one carried out by Cuamm: unfortunately we won’t be able to be physically present, but we will still give our contribution and bring our voice as future health professionals interested in a global approach to health: a great challenge, which we are proud to be able to say we face together with Cuamm.

What does starting again mean to you?

Personally, I take the word restart to mean: the last two years have been a great challenge and a huge pain for health systems around the world, unprepared for a global challenge such as a pandemic. For me, restarting means rebuilding: it is necessary to take stock of what is not working, and to change the approach with which it is faced. Health starts with education, and not just from medical students: a wide range of disciplines and skills are needed to enable us to address and defeat future health challenges, and it is crucial that change starts at all levels, including that of medical students, making them discover the inherently political role they play as health promoters in society.

Starting again with?

Starting again with determination, so that we can meet the challenges of the future with the awareness of the present and the lessons of the past, but above all, starting over with enthusiasm, which is one of the strongest drivers of change.

Sharing to feel less alone

Posted on by Redazione Cuamm

“It was a Friday of last year, and like every Friday, the staff met to discuss and evaluate the data collected during the week: HIV tests carried out, number of people who tested positive, the number of patients undergoing treatment, and the dropout rate. A moment for sharing the story of the home visits carried out,” says Luciano Nigro, Cuamm infectiologist.

We are in Angola, in Luanda, within the framework of PIPSA project (Integral protection of HIV-positive people), focused on HIV prevention and on providing continuous and integrated assistance to people living with HIV infection. “When community activists share the stories of the people they meet during the home visits, it often emerges the great loneliness, discrimination and marginalization that people living with HIV have to face”, continues Luciano.

The lack of information and awareness regarding HIV and AIDS, and especially the stigma attached to the infection, are still very widespread and often they are cause of exclusion from the community. “We started to ask ourselves how it was possible to make these people feel less alone in their condition – adds Luciano-. So we thought, ‘What if the stories we hear every day became a book of multiple voices, each one telling their own story?’ It could be a way to make people understand how HIV-positive patients feel, what their daily difficulties are and how together we can face stigma and marginalization in a different way”.

This is how “Experiences and ways to hope” was born, a book which tells how a HIV-positive woman feels and faces the disease, with two children to raise and without the support of a husband,  or how a girl lives the stigma within her own family and how it is possible to overcome it through raising awareness within the entire family, or the discouragement and desolation that can be felt at the time of diagnosis, but also the hope for a better and normal life if the treatment is properly followed. And again, the story highlights the essential role of community activists.

“I don’t think we can truly know what the other person is feeling or experiencing, each of us has its own way, but I am convinced that really listening carefully to the stories of others helps us to imagine what they are experiencing and this is the first step in trying to understand each other and be more supportive”, emphasizes Giulia Natali, general coordinator of the PIPSA project.

The projects that Cuamm carries out in 8 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa are made up of data, but above all of the life stories of the people we meet everyday. A collection of voices can be a very powerful tool, creating deep connections, and bringing together those whom we may think are distant.

 

Taking care of the little ones for the country’s health

Posted on by Redazione Cuamm

The “Newborn Survival Project: quality and innovation for an increased access to neonatal care”, supported by the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation, in partnership with local partners, has been developed in Ethiopia, more precisely in the areas of Addis Ababa, Tulu Bolo and Wolisso. The project aimed to improve accessibility and to strengthen neonatal, maternal and children healthcare services. Particularly, it focused on setting up, equipping and supplying drugs to the Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs) of the three hospitals involved in the project’s areas of reference: St. Paul in Addis Ababa, St. Luke in Wolisso, and Tulu Bolo hospitals.

EQUIPMENT OF NEONATAL INTENSIVE CARE UNITS

The NICUs of the three hospitals involved, have been equipped with drugs, wall-mounted oxygen concentrators, and all the necessary equipment to enable the wards to manage even the most critical cases independently.

“The NICU project has enabled us to install oxygen generators and to provide each hospital’s ward with a wall-mounted oxygen distribution instrument – tells us Eleonora Balestri, neonatologist for CUAMM at Wolisso hospital -. Considering that most newborns who have been diagnosed with pathologies at birth may be affected by respiratory disorders, it is extremely important to have the opportunity help them with this equipment that is pioneering in Ethiopia”.

TRAINING OF SPECIALISTS AND LOCAL OPERATORS

Increasing the availability of specialised local staff, together with training and capacity building, were key components of the intervention. Training was provided on essential neonatal care, care of the pathological newborn, neonatal resuscitation and the use of NICU equipment. A total of 53 nurses and 56 biomedical engineers were trained.

“The opening of the neonatal intensive care unit in Wolisso was greeted with great joy and enthusiasm by the local staff, who also saw it as an opportunity to further their training. In fact, 10 out of 13 nurses spent a month in Addis Ababa for a specialisation course,” says Eleonora Belestri, CUAMM neonatologist at the Wolisso hospital. The aim of the training was to make the local staff autonomous, particularly in following the protocols for the main neonatal pathologies and in the use of machinery”.

 

COMMUNITY OUTREACH

In addition to training NICU health workers, 26 Health Extension Workers, community health workers, and 575 women community activists from the Women Development Army were also trained. Thanks to their crucial support, 158 community meetings were held, raising awareness among 51,652 women about maternal and child health and newborn care.

“Women activists from the Women Development Army were the key to reaching the communities. For the all 15 Kebele, 40 women were selected and we started to hold regular meetings with them on health issues, a space for discussion, debate, and to collect feedback and data from the awareness-raising activities carried out,” says Genet, a Cuamm worker responsible for community mobilisation. The Covid had a strong impact on our activities because it prevented us from going house to house and meeting in person for months, until we managed to restart activities in compliance with safety rules, using the masks we had distributed to all the women of the Women Development Army. We also conducted education sessions on how to prevent and protect against Covid-19”.

PROMOTION OF HEALTH SERVICES FOR PREGNANT WOMEN

Conveying to women the importance of taking care of themselves already in the early stages of pregnancy is crucial for their health and that of their children. This is possible in particular through the active involvement of people and the training of health workers, community activists and peer-mothers to become a reference point for the rest of the community.

“Thanks to the community health workers and doctors, I learned a lot about health and how to take care of myself. In the case of a second pregnancy, they advised me to reduce my efforts to a minimum, to spend little time standing, to eat healthy food, and to have regular check-ups. So, when I found out that I was expecting another child, I started to be followed right away,” says a young mother who is a beneficiary of the project.

EDUCATION IN NEWBORN CARE AND GOOD HEALTH AND NUTRITIONAL PRACTICES

In collaboration with district authorities, community health workers and Women Development Army’ activists visit villages to sensitise mothers and the community on maternal and newborn health, particularly exclusive breastfeeding during the first six months of a newborn’s life.

For the promotion of breastfeeding to be effective, the support of fathers, family members, health workers and the whole community is essential.

“During the first six months, with the advice I received from the operators, I breastfed my son only with mother’s milk. After that, I learned to cook simple, protein-rich meals to make my son healthy and strong,” says a young mother who is a beneficiary of the project.

The NICU project focused on the care of mothers and children, because the health of the whole community depends on their health. “Being ‘with’ means sharing the daily difficulties and rejoicing together in the achievements,” explains Eleonora. Africa means struggling alongside them every day, trying to identify needs together, to find solutions, always together, learning also to accept that changes and improvements need time, required by the context and circumstances, sometimes different from “ours”.

 

 

“Newborn Survival Project: quality and innovation for an increased access to neonatal care in Ethiopia” is a three-year project started in June 2018, supported by the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation, and implemented by CUAMM in partnership with Federal Ministry of Health (FMoH), Ethiopian Catholic Church – Social and Development Commission (ECCSDCO) and Oromia Regional Health Bureau, South West Shoa Zone Health (SWSZHD). Moreover, the project has been implemented with the direct engagement of technical partners namely: Ethiopian Paediatric Society – EPS responsible for the training and supervisions, Ospedale Pediatrico Bambino Gesù (OPBG), Informatics without Borders (Informatici senza Frontiere – ISF) and Università degli Studi di Tor Vergata – Dipartimento Pediatrico Universitario-Ospedaliero (DPUO TV).

 

The gaze of Berhanu

Posted on by Redazione Cuamm

In the field there are many figures, sometimes not very visible, who work hard every day to implement and make the various projects concrete. Doctors with Africa CUAMM has always worked ‘with’ Africa, a preposition that is the measure of its intervention: it works side by side with the local population. In addition to the many operators who leave Italy and spend their personal and professional lives in the field, there are just as many local operators, who also play fundamental roles in ensuring that the ‘great machine of good’ continues to function.

Among them is Berhanu Gulo, Project Officer in Ethiopia, who tells us about his background and the activities he deals with on a daily basis: “Since I joined CUAMM, I have been working on a project on the prevention and treatment of cervical cancer in the Wolisso area, which has received excellent feedback from both the beneficiaries and the local authorities. I also worked on the recently completed NICU project to improve access and quality of neonatal care, which received great appreciation by the Ministry of Health”.

Berhanu works at the CUAMM coordination office in Addis Ababa, supporting the project leader in planning, monitoring and implementing project activities.

“My day is made up of many meetings, which are essential for building relationships of trust and collaboration with partners and communities, enabling projects to be implemented in line with the real needs of the beneficiaries. I frequently meet with representatives of the Ministry of Health and the Department of Health of the Oromia region to ask them to actively collaborate in the implementation of project activities. I also meet with those involved in the projects, from health directors to community activists, to support them in their activities and to incorporate needs to continue improving the services offered. These many meetings have taught me that relationships are the strategic key to project development”.

These meetings are also fundamental in shortening the great physical distances that often exist between the various places of intervention and that make it difficult for operators to communicate information to the beneficiaries and the context in which the project is developed.

“What excites me about my job is the opportunity to be in contact with expatriate and local colleagues, and to continuously learn from this cultural and professional exchange. What motivates me on a daily basis is working ‘for’ and ‘with’ communities, and the idea that projects like the ones I have worked on can contribute to improving health services for people in my country.”

 

 

Kick-off of a new project on malaria in northern Uganda

Posted on by Redazione Cuamm

11 districts in northern and north-eastern Uganda, with a total population of 1,655,200 people, are involved in a new regional malaria project, launched by Doctors with Africa CUAMM on Thursday 30 September in the Kotido district of Karamoja region. The project, in line with the national malaria strategic plan, aims to help reduce malaria morbidity by 50% and mortality by 75% by 2023. An ambitious target, with a special focus on pregnant women and children under 5 years of age.

“CUAMM will work with 182 health facilities, 8,008 community health workers (Village Health Teams), and with a special focus on 292,971 children under 5 years of age and 82,760 pregnant women,” explains Peter Lochoro, Cuamm Country Manager in Uganda.

The intervention is financed by the Global Fund for TB, AIDS and Malaria through Taso Uganda, the second largest recipient of Global Fund grants in the country. Representatives from the Ministry of Health, district government leaders, district health officers and malaria technical officers participated to the event.

“Karamoja has the worst malaria prevalence rate in the country, with 34% of children under 5 years old testing positive. In addition, there is little knowledge of health issues and therefore little awareness and dissemination of preventive behaviour,” says Lucy Apio Chegem, CUAMM’s project manager. “Although 58% of families have anti-mosquito nets, only 28% use nets treated with insecticide”.

Malaria is a “double misfortune” for poor families not only because it causes illness and death, but also because it affects family income and food security. Most of the region’s population is scattered over a large geographical area, with poorly developed public transport, which also affects access to and use of services.

The project therefore fits into and complements CUAMM’s wider intervention to strengthen the health system in the region. Another step, with the support and collaboration of the Ministry and local health institutions, to improve the health and quality of life of the communities in Karamoja and northern Uganda.

Brescia A new triage at the pediatric emergency care

Posted on by Redazione Cuamm

Latest data reveal that the average age of people affected by Covid-19 is decreasing in Italy. Those currently more likely to be affected are the young, teens and children. At the moment, cases of children aged between 3 and 5 are reported to be on the rise. Therefore, being prepared and organized is crucial to deal with new and potential cases, especially in hospitals. For that reason, a new triage system for pediatric emergency care was inaugurated last Friday at Spedali Civili di Brescia hospital. Doctors with Africa CUAMM, supported by UsAid, made it possible, through the IRC19 project (Italian Response to Covid-19. Improving governance and community preparedness for a resiliant society), to set new best practices aiming at managing patient flow, either in case of covid and not, improving the security of both patients and health workers.

A well-indicated pathway for a safe and efficient admission in the facility was introduced either at the hospital main entrance and at the pediatric emergency care; portable partitions were installed to create a safe pedestrian aisle in the ER. Moreover, a safe outdoor pedestrian pathway and a portable fence made of poles and chains were also provided and restoration finishes in the ER were completed.

«Today is an important day for us- says Andrea Atzori, head of International Relations at Doctors with Africa Cuamm -: thanks to the support received by UsAid we reorganized the pediatric ER at Spedali civili di Brescia hospital where we created a triage area to divide patients affected by Covid from those who are not tested positive.  This is one of the twenty interventions realized all around Italy and in several health facilities in order to empower the national health system in response to Covid-19. During the pandemic, finding solutions and new best practices is paramount to make a difference in the care and management of patients. This is what we have learnt in the last year and a half and we will treasure it in the future».

Caring for the little ones

Posted on by Redazione Cuamm

Three hospitals involved, in Addis Ababa, Tulu Bolo and Wolisso, and a two-day event in each of the respective cities. All this to say firmly that it is possible to improve accessibility and innovate care services for newborn and children in the Oromia region of Ethiopia. This was the aim of the Newborn Survival Project, supported by the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation, which is coming to an end after three years of activities dedicated to building, improving, equipping and supplying drugs to neonatal intensive care units: all fundamental actions to help strengthen neonatal, maternal and child health in Ethiopia. The intervention, which extended to five Woredas and fifteen Kebeles, also aimed to train and strengthen the skills and competencies of local staff, raise awareness in the communities on good neonatal care practices and ensure a referral system for problematic cases.

St. Luke’s Hospital in Wolisso records more than 4,200 deliveries per year and around 100 babies are admitted every month, half of whom are transferred from other parts of the country. These numbers clearly show the importance of St. Luke’s as a reference centre and the need for an adequate neonatal unit” says Eleonora Balestri, a CUAMM neonatologist. The positive impact of the project is clear and has led to a state-of-the-art neonatal unit: it is the only hospital in the country equipped with wall-mounted machines for the supply of medical gases, both oxygen and air”.

And the results of the project indicate a decrease in neonatal mortality of 2.8% at St. Paul’s Hospital in Addis Ababa, 6.6% at St. Luke’s in Wolisso and 2.2% at Tulu Bolo Hospital. A total of 14,691 newborns were admitted to the three NICUs (Neonatal intensive care units), and 53 nurses and 56 biomedical engineers were trained.

“Having a neonatal unit is crucial for reducing mortality. Newborn babies need special care, in a dedicated environment and with specialised staff,” confirms Turegn Asefa Kebeta, paediatrician at Tulu Bolo Hospital.

Regarding awareness-rising activities at the community level, 26 health workers and 575 women community activists were trained. “I sensitise the community on maternal and child health, good hygiene practices, and on recognising the warning signs,” explains Birhane, leader of the women community activists. We visit pregnant women in their homes to promote the importance of antenatal visits, vaccinations, and breastfeeding”.

The focus of the intervention was on caring for mothers and children, because the health of the whole community depends on their health. “Being ‘with’ means sharing the daily difficulties and rejoicing together in the achievements,” continues Eleonora. Africa means struggling alongside them every day, trying to identify needs together, to find solutions, always together, learning also to accept that changes and improvements need time, required by the context and circumstances, sometimes different from “ours”.

A life free from violence

Posted on by Redazione Cuamm

“At first, it was hard to reach women who have survived violence, but during the meetings I feel that, little by little, they started to approach and participate, that communication works and a dialogue is created. It takes a lot of patience, perseverance, and courage but, in the end, I manage to create that connection needed for them to open up. In this way, I meet women who have suffered violence at night, while sleeping in huts, those with small children and who were the most vulnerable; those who are abused by their partners without being able to do anything, without even counting on the support of the elders who used to live with them and would watch over them; those who were girls raped while they ran away….”

Filomena Ndudo puts the full passion and determination of a 26-year-old woman into her work. She comes from the Pemba area, in the province of Cabo Delgado and is part of the CUAMM project which, with the support of UNHCR, tries to combat gender-based violence and support displaced people in Cabo Delgado, in the north of Mozambique. The situation here is truly dire. What was once a paradise has become hellish due to terrorist attacks by Islamic extremists. They use machetes and guns to attack and destroy whatever they find, forcing the people to flee. There have been 700,000 displaced people in a few months.

Filomena works as a “community officer” and with 76 local activists, coordinated by Andrea, the intervention’s program manager, she goes to six refugee camps, bringing help and psychological support to the displaced people, especially women and young people.

“We meet them, we talk to them and try to get them to tell us what they have experienced, the violence they have suffered. We make it clear that we are there for them, to assist them, and that they can still hope to live a life free from violence. We try to help them by providing them with doors and locks to make the huts safer and by putting them in touch with other women, so that they protect each other. Everything has been made worse by the situation of extreme precariousness and by the scarcity of food.”

Filomena is about to defend her dissertation in Public Administration at the Catholic University of Mozambique in Beira, and she really likes her job. “When CUAMM hired me was one of the happiest moments of my life. I lost my parents as a child and that, of course, traumatized me, but thank God, I am able to adapt. Lending a hand to others makes me happy and helps me deal with my personal problems as well. Talking to women, convincing them that there are other possibilities, that they are strong, that they can be heard, that they have to have the courage to be helped, that they can overcome sadness and shame, is the best part of my job! This is the most important part of CUAMM’s work in Cabo Delgado: taking care of women, making them want a better life for themselves, for their children, for their community, and their country.”

Mozambique An International Symposium on HIV

Posted on by Redazione Cuamm

A two-day conference to discuss the fight against HIV in emergency settings: “Science, community engagement and youth for an integrated HIV response in Mozambique” is being held on September 21st-22nd streamed from Mozambique, with contributions in English and Portuguese.

This is the first international symposium organized by Doctors with Africa Cuamm, which has been working in Africa since 1978, in partnership with IAS Educational Fund to focus on good practices in the treatment of HIV patients in emergency settings such as Mozambique, on engagement with young people and adolescents and on field research.

Delegates of the Ministry of Health, international and local NGO, community activists, donors and researchers will gather to discuss the key role of communities and young people in the fight against HIV. Insights will be provided as well as opportunities for discussion through a Q&A session with the audience.

 

The Programme

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