Agenzia Giornalistica
direttore Paolo Pagliaro

Italy's commitment to Iraqi Kurdistan: the success of the Hiwa Hospital

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(May 18, 2017) The Hiwa Cancer Hospital in Sulemania, Iraqi Kurdistan, is a public, free, oncology and infantile medical center that since last year has been able to treat the most severe cases of leukemia and thalassemia, thanks to the technique of bone marrow transplantation. A result obtained with the voluntary collaboration of Italian doctors and nurses and the contribution of Italian Cooperation through the AVSI NGO. The facility was visited in recent days by Gianandrea Sandri, AICS Beirut Director and Emergency Response Officer in Iraqi Kurdistan, and Italian Consul Serena Muroni: the visit was the occasion to celebrate the first transplant carried out entirely by the Iraqi team with the sole oversight of Italian staff, but it was also time to look over the work done and plan future developments. During the brief ceremony, Sandri has highlighted the importance of this initiative, which demonstrates how development is possible even when crisis situations seem to impose with the emergency they bring with them. "This is a success of the Hiwa Hospital that now, however, needs the commitment of all actors involved to ensure its sustainability over time”, said AICS Beirut Director. The Consul Muroni emphasized the pride of the institutions and of the Italian people to be a significant part of this project, which witnesses the deep bond between the two peoples. In addition to the hospital, the AICS delegation visited other projects, funded by Italian cooperation, from Italian NGOs for the protection of minors in the camps. In particular, the project "One Bridge For" was visited in the Syrian refugee camp of Arbat and that of "Terre des Hommes Italia" for the displaced Iraqis of Debaga. In addition, at the consular seat of Erbil, the AICS Beirut Director, together with the Consul Muroni, also met Italian NGOs working in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region for a review of the progress of their current programs and a fruitful comparison of relations Between AICS and their operational issues. From February 2017, AVSI is partner of the Italian Cooperation for Project Management. The goal of the next 10 months is the care of at least 100 children with oncoematological problems. (Red)


ABOUT / RESULTS


The one offered by the Hiwa Hospital is a service that by 2016 no center in the country was able to offer. Patients, at least those who could afford it, were forced to travel long hoping to undergo delicate intervention in Turkey or India, facing costs between $ 50,000 and $ 100,000. In March 2017 transplanted patients are already 27 and the Hiwa Hospital has a busy schedule for interventions until next December. All this was possible thanks to the intervention of the Italian Government, which through AICS believed in the project and provided the funds needed to support the hospital both from the point of view of the necessary medical equipment and above all the know-how . The protagonist of the initiative are a pool of Italian doctors from various hospitals and foundations specializing in childhood oncology, oncoematology and bone marrow transplants, who for more than a year have been joined by the team of surgeons, nurses and Kurdish technicians, transmitting them Knowledge and skills needed for the diagnosis and treatment of leukemia and thalassemia. Today, the Hiwa Hospital opens its doors to about 400 patients every day, of which a third is displaced.

(© 9Colonne - citare la fonte)