Project Title:
Florence - Asmara km Zero

Period:
May 2004 - June 2005

Who’s Participating:
Annulliamo la Distanza Onlus in collaboration with the Health Ministry of the Eritrean government, the Meyer Pediatric Hospital of Florence, the Archè association, the ‘Misericordia’ of Florence, the Massa Red Cross and the town council of Florence - counsellorship for the social health politics of the Eritrean communities of Florence and Massa.

The context:
The project anticipates the reception and the assistance of eight Eritrean children who were able to benefit from the health services of our region, on the basis of a decision made by the Tuscan Region (G.R. n. 313 of 26.06.01). On the basis of the urgency of the cases and the pathologies present, the children were gathered and cured in groups in the Meyer Pediatric Hospital of Florence and the pediatric hospital of Massa. Once dismissed from the hospital, the children were lodged in a house near the Meyer hospital that was rented by Annulliamo la Distanza, which also provided for the complete organization of shifts to cover the children’s supervision, thanks to the collaboration of one of the project partners, the Archè association. The children’s transfer was attended to by the Florence ‘Misericordia,’ also partner in the project.

The project inserts itself in a collaborative relationship between the Meyer Pediatric Hospital of Florence and the only pediatric hospital in Eritrea, the Mekane Hiwet of Asmara. Thanks to the technical and scientific support of the Meyer hospital, our association has been involved for more than four years in activities that support the reconstruction and development of the Mekane Hiwet Hospital, as well as a training project involving the doctors and sanitary structures of the two hospitals.

The project proposes the resolution of urgent and non-curable cases in the Eritrean structures, in anticipation of the establishment in the Asmara Hospital’s of the structures, the technical measures, the professionals and the economic resources necessary to guarantee them a progressively greater autonomy in a timely period.

Total Cost of the Project:
€ 79.760,00 financed by Cesvot with € 59.900,00 in the sector of 2003 public announcements of innovation.

Results:
Thanks to the project, curial protocols have been created for the illnesses being treated, which will be replicated by the Eritrean doctors in the local hospital structures; besides the positive results obtained for the children who took part in the project, it is predicted that in this way a large number of young patients will benefit from the experience as it matures, considering that Mekane Hiwet, the pediatric hospital of Asmara, carries out circa 25.000 visits and 7.000 recoveries every year.

The project was originally presented in May of 2006 at a convention on social planning with the Civitas of Padova as a model project for its capacity to network with the partners and the incisiveness of the actions carried out.

Project manager:
Sivana Monatti +39 3282778261