VATICAN - Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital in Rome new clinic-surgery department in Cambodia has already treated 2,400 children

Vatican (Agenzia Fides) - Already 2,400 children have been treated at a new clinic-surgery department opened in Takeo Cambogia, by the Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital sponsored by the Holy See.
Since it was opened in March the doctors of the department have already visited 2,400 admitting 1,784 for hospital care. So far 144 have undergone operations and 300 more operations are planned. More serious cases have been moved to Italy and operated.
The programme of cooperation with Cambodia was signed in May 2006 by the president of the Bambino Gesu Hospital Francesco Silvano and the Cambodian health minister Nuth Sokhom. The clinical and surgical activity of the humanitarian initiative involves 5 provinces of this east Asian country in collaboration with the 3 Catholic dioceses of Battambang, Kompon Thom and Kompong Saom.
The project consists of a qualified and fully equipped paediatric air conditioned department, a reality long dreamed of where quality service is accessible to the poorest people and the service of doctors and nurses and medical treatment is free.
In Cambodia, as in other countries of recent development, basic needs are reserved for a privileged few. In the first months of activity the department treated 176 children affected by dengue, malaria, intestinal infections, congenital malformation, cardio-pathology and many other pathologies.
Dengue fever is the greatest danger for children in Cambodia: according to official data between January and June of 2007 the number of patients treated for dengue was 14.986; of these 182 died.
The Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital was the first to open a directly funded and supported operative base in Cambodia. The Takeo initiative is not the first of its kind. It is in fact part of a project "A Department for Five Continents", which sees the professionals of Bambino Gesù involved since 1994 in many missions all over the world. In the past 5 years 40 countries have benefited from the assistance of the doctors of the Holy See hospital. Hundreds of operations have been performed and in most countries there has also been clinical and teaching activity. Collaboration has been initiated to train foreign doctors and paramedics in Italy. (AP) (3/9/2007 Agenzia Fides; Righe:35; Parole:400)