Four Foundations. Thousands of lives saved in Ethiopia
Representatives from Fondazione Cariplo, Compagnia di San Paolo, Fondazione Cariparo and Fondazione Cariverona saw with their very eyes the fruits yielded by the financial support given by their foundations to “Mothers and children first”, a Doctors with Africa Cuamm’s project featuring provision of free medical assistance during childbirth.
Since 2011, the year the project was kicked off in Ethiopia, thanks to this project thousands of lives have been saved, 204,294 women and babies have received medical assistance during birth and 102,147 deliveries have been safely made. The project now involves 4 hospitals in 4 countries in sub-Saharan Africa.
On November 9 and 10, 2015, the delegation of representatives from the four Foundations named above visited one of the health care facilities involved in the project: St. Luke Hospital in Wolisso, Ethiopia, a 200-bed hospital that has become a leading example the whole nation looks up to.
The visiting delegation was made up of Sister Giuliana Galli, member of the Board of Directors of Compagnia di San Paolo; Marzia Sica, manager, Social Policies Area, Compagnia di San Paolo; Mariella Enoc, Vice president, Cariplo Foundation; Silvana Bortolami, member of the General Council, Cariparo Foundation; and Vicenzo Riboni, member of the General Council, Cariverona Foundation. In their visit they were accompanied by Father Dante Carraro, Director, Doctors with Africa Cuamm.
“MOTHERS AND CHILDREN FIRST”
‘Mothers and children first’ is a project started in 2011 to help reduce mothers’ and newborns’ mortality through the provision of medical assistance free of charge to women and babies during birth and thus ensure safe deliveries as well as neonatal care. The initial goal was doubling in five years the number of births taking place in settings where women and their babies could be assisted by healthcare professionals, taking a stepwise approach to eventually hit the target of 125,000 safe births at participating hospitals and districts. The ultimate goal of the project is reducing maternal, fetal and neonatal mortality by ensuring free access to safe childbirth and neonatal care. The project involves hospitals in Chiulo (Angola), Wolisso (Ethiopia), Aber (Uganda) and Tosamaganga (Tanzania) serving a population of 1,300,000 people. The intervention strategy is centered on provision of childbirth assistance by healthcare professionals, especially in case of obstetrical and neonatal emergencies, with actions designed to improve coverage, quality and equity of care.
DOCTORS WITH AFRICA CUAMM
Established in 1950, Doctors with Africa Cuamm was the first nonprofit in the health field to be recognized in Italy (under Italy’s International Development Act 1972) and the largest Italian nonprofit organization for the promotion and protection of the health of African people. Doctors with Africa Cuamm is engaged in long-term projects, taking action under a development-oriented approach, including in emergencies or crises, to ensure quality health services accessible to everyone. In its over 60 years in operation, 1,522 people have gone to Africa to help as part of a Doctors with Africa Cuamm’s project, the organization has served 216 hospitals, has had projects in 41 countries and completed 157 main programs.
Today, Doctors with Africa Cuamm is operating in 7 countries in sub-Saharan Africa (Angola, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda) with 168 people, 38 main projects and some hundred related micro-initiatives. The organization is providing help to 17 hospitals, 26 districts (public health, assistance to mothers and newborns, fight against HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, education), 5 schools of nursing and 2 universities.
www.mediciconlafrica.org
To view the pictures taken during the visits of the delegation to the Wolisso hospital and to the Shegeg Gefre community healthcare facility see the photo gallery below.
