They have passed 27 years twigs 15 May 1994, when Gino Strada founded Emergency together with his wife Teresa Sarti, Giulio Cristoffanini e Charles Garbagnati. Since then the humanitarian association has cured more than 11 million people in 18 countries of the world, thanks also to local volunteers. The purpose of Emergency is in fact that of offer assistance e free medical treatment war victims, Landmines and poverty, without any kind of discrimination. The association has also built and renovated dozens of hospitals, first aid centers, rehabilitation centers, surgeries e health centers in many war zones and beyond. To date, Emergency manages health facilities in Afghanistan. , Iraq, Italy, Central African Republic, Sierra Leone e Sudan.
A story of a humanity that does not surrender to war and poverty
The very first intervention of Emergency (in 1994) was the restructuring and reactivation of the department of obstetrics and gynecology of the hospital of Kigali (Rwanda). In just a few years, volunteers have also begun to operate in other war-torn countries, such as Iran, Palestine, Kosovo o Afghanistan. . In 1998 the association is recognized as NPO and the following year as NGO. In addition to the treatment of war victims, Emergency also takes care of victims of poverty, often caused precisely by conflicts, paying free rescue. Emergency also organizes many activities and events for promote peace, such as the awareness campaign "Italy out of the war”(2002) to say no to Italy's participation in the war in Iraq.
In 2007 the association founded by Gino Strada built the Salam Center of cardiac surgery a Khartoum in Sudan. It is a health facility that offers medical care to patients suffering from heart disease, among the leading causes of mortality in Africa. The center treated patients from 28 countries and it is one of the continent's healthcare excellences. The name "Salam”(Peace) was chosen to foster collaboration and peace between the countries involved in the project. On the basis of this center, in 2010 theANME (African Network of Medical Excellence), whose goal is to promote the construction of medical centers of excellence in Africa that provide free treatment. Currently I am 11 African countries who adhere to it. The recent one is also inspired by the Salam Center surgical pediatric center a Entebbe (Uganda), designed by Renzo Piano. Opened in recent weeks, this is the second structure of the AMNE.
Emergency in Italy
From 2005 Emergency is also present in Italy and took care of theassistance to migrants, but not only. From 2006 fun were open polyclinics including that of Marghera (Venice), of Polistena (Reggio Calabria), of Castel Volturno, of Napoli need Palermo. Always in Sicilia, Emergency is present to provide assistance to migrants in need, operating in the ports of Augusta, Porto Empedocle e Pozzallo and in other reception centers on the island. In 2016 she also worked to help victims of the earthquake that hit thecentral Italy, providing medical and psychological assistance. In the same year the association also received the public health gold medal for merit for its humanitarian commitment and free care to the victims of wars, as well as the training of high-level medical and paramedical personnel, to allow them to operate in complete autonomy.
Gino Strada and all the Emergency operators in all these years have struggled to break down the plague of war and poverty, assisting those who cannot afford medical care. Even if unfortunately there are still many conflicts in the world that cause thousands of victims every day, Emergency is a beacon of hope for many innocent souls who have experienced the horrors of war on their own skin. Today the presence of the association in the area is essential for the life and health of thousands of people reduced to poverty since Covid. An example is the project None Excluded, for the delivery of food and basic necessities, active in several cities. Good Emergency birthday, the humanitarian association that in 27 years has changed the world, taking care of the least.
