Focused on international development, global health and health policy, Doctors with Africa CUAMM’s magazine Health and Development is published in Italian and English. It views health as critical to sustainable development, and features articles on our work in the field and good practices learned as well as commentary by international experts.
An online edition of the magazine is also available. It includes further pieces on these topics in addition to the articles offered in the print edition.
We conducted a retrospective study in partnership with the University of Padua to assess the outcome for medical students and residents of CUAMM’s training opportunities inAfrica.The findings? Plenty of satisfaction and growth, both professional and personal, including greater empathy and understanding of social inequalities.
Global logistics will play an increasingly important role in the response to future complex emergencies. We asked Giuseppe Saba, logistics expert and CEO of International Humanitarian City, for deeper insight into the issue that Covid-19 has brought to the world’s attention.
The changing climate is alarming for CUAMM both as individuals and as an organization, especially given that the hardest hit are already so vulnerable. Africa faces dire risks. This puts CUAMM – committed, as always, to working alongside the neediest communities as effectively as possible – face to face with issues of an ethical and professional nature as well as in terms of our civic responsibility.
Progress is being made on HIV/AIDS, but not for young women. In South Africa there are almost twice as many HIV-affected females as males. The gender gap is even wider in younger population groups, where HIV incidence is four times higher among young women than their male counterparts. It is an unacceptable situation whose causes include poverty, the status of women and, most of all, the violence to which they are subjected.
An interview with Professor Carlo Carraro contextualizes the current state of the climate and the environment and its impact on our health. From Italy to Africa, the consequences affect all of us and only a change of course aimed at curbing greenhouse gas emissions and incentivizing the use of renewable energies will restore some balance. Digital innovation could also play a role.
With over 50 countries across approximately 30 million square kilometers of land, the threat of natural hazards in Africa varies greatly by geography and season. Figure 1 demonstrates the type of disaster that affects the highest number of people in each African country. Regions of southern Africa, the Horn of Africa, and the Sahel have been most affected by drought, while much of central Africa and western Africa has been most affected by floods.
Cyclone Idai had a dire impact on the city of Beira, devastating people’s homes and agricultural production. CUAMM was able to coordinate an effective disaster response together with a network of community groups; already assistance providers to the population prior to the disaster, they expanded their role in its aftermath to facilitate emergency communication and reporting.
South Sudan is Africa's youngest nation and among the world's poorest, most fragile countries. Only by delving into the intricate system of political, institutional, economic, and environmental factors can we reconstruct the chain of causes that have led to this situation. Doctors with Africa CUAMM's intervention in Panyijar County has taken place within this dense interweave of factors of fragility.
The consequences of drought in Angola are seen in health parameters, an increase in acute malnutrition, in the societal situation – many schools have closed due to the lack of water – and the resulting instability in the country. A global perspective on the country's situation, starting from the severe drought afflicting it.
A June 2019 article published in Nature examines the relationship between armed conflict and climate change. Risk factors including increasingly scarce natural resources, lack of security, and low state governance capabilities will worsen the already challenging conditions faced by the most vulnerable communities. To counteract the fallout, global, political and individual action will be critical.