AFRICA/SOUTH SUDAN - 'When we start, we stay': the "blood pact" of the Doctors WITH Africa CUAMM

Wednesday, 18 March 2020 coronavirus   pandemic   healthcare  

CUAMM

Nyal (Agenzia Fides) - "There is only one humanity" said Don Dante Carraro, Director of Doctors with Africa CUAMM, returning to Italy from South Sudan, and was shocked to find deserted cities and hospitals in distress due to the Coronavirus epidemic.
The Director in recent days had gone to Nyal, 40 thousand inhabitants, one of the most distant and forgotten places in the Country, in the State of Unity, for the opening of the first operating room attached to the village's modest health center. "The locals were all there, waiting for our arrival - says Don Dante. There was the whole community gathered to 'celebrate' the first operating room ever. Now mothers can finally give birth without the fear of losing their lives. The community leader thanked us and asked us not to abandon them. I replied that for us "WITH" is like a blood pact. ‘When we start, we stay’ I added, looking at him in the eyes and feeling the responsibility strongly".
Regarding the pandemic that is affecting the whole world, the priest, who is also a doctor, said that "in Africa there are still few known cases of Covid-19, but they are destined to increase and we must be prepared. Everything must be done to protect staff and contain the epidemic. The risk of not being able to do so is very high because health systems are extremely fragile and it is not possible to guarantee intensive care to the affected patients, there are no equipped wards! For this reason we are distributing protective material in the 23 hospitals where we are present (gloves, alcohol gel, protective masks, sheets), preparing containment plans, training the many health workers, including the communities, on hygiene and protection standards, collaborating with national governments in preparing guidelines and procedures suitable for the control of the epidemic".
At the end of his umpteenth humanitarian and health experience, Don Dante confirms the priority interest of CUAMM, "which remains concentrated in Africa as it has been for 70 years, and which today wants to be attentive to our country too, participating in the difficult and hard moment it is facing. Also, in Italy, we want to be close to the elderly who fear for their health and who find themselves even more alone having to face a hard daily life of isolation: for this reason we are taking action with the network of our volunteers and groups on the territory. We continue to support the many doctors who have returned who are now operating in the hospitals of our country with the same passion and competence experienced in Africa. We feel the duty to bring concrete help". (DC/AP) (Agenzia Fides, 18/3/2020)


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