Non-governmental organisations have launched numerous support projects for patients, the general public and healthcare workers. In Italy and beyond.
The coronavirus emergency is mobilising Italy's entire healthcare workforce. Doctors, nurses, pharmacists: everyone is on the front line in an attempt to contain the spread of the epidemic. Joining them are workers from non-governmental organisations, who are providing invaluable assistance to patients, starting from the worst-affected areas.
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has been sending its staff to Lombardy, at the heart of the epidemic, for several weeks now. The first support was offered to the hospital in Codogno, where the first positive swab for a Covid-19 case in Italy was carried out. "When we recorded the first case, the virus was already circulating. Now it is important for us to manage this epidemic and prevent new infections. MSF's support is very important; we are already learning a great deal," explained Andrea Filippin, medical director of the Codogno hospital.
Carlotta Berutto, a nurse and coordinator of MSF's intervention in Codogno, with over 10 years of experience on humanitarian missions abroad, summed up the desire to make her contribution in an extraordinary emergency situation with these words: "I haven't been working in Italy for a long time, but today I am glad to be able to play my part and to see such solidarity between our staff and that of the Codogno hospital. We are helping them to fight the epidemic safely, so that they can continue their work assisting all patients — not only those infected with Covid-19, but also others who need care."
From 25 March, the humanitarian organisation expanded its activities, supporting a number of care homes for the elderly in Marche. In the midst of the coronavirus emergency, care homes for the elderly are indeed among the most vulnerable settings. They are home to elderly people, those hardest hit by the disease, living in communities where many people live together in close contact with one another, without the specialised medical facilities found in hospital settings.
"We thank Médecins Sans Frontières," said the president of the Marche Region, Luca Ceriscioli, "for the qualified contribution they have offered, and we hope this collaboration can expand in the coming days. Our aim is to deploy everything at our best to tackle this emergency, and the MSF team's experience can only enhance our operational capacity."
MSF has also made itself available to the health authorities of other regions, from the most affected to those where prevention can make a difference. "Other workers setting out on mission," the non-governmental organisation added, "are already on the front line in Italian hospitals as doctors within the national health service." The organisation is also engaged in the fight against coronavirus in Spain, France, Belgium and Greece, and is in contact with health authorities in Afghanistan and other countries preparing for the epidemic.
Another particularly active organisation is Save the Children. More than two weeks ago it launched a programme called "Non da soli". Through it, it has already reached 20,000 people, including children and teenagers, families and teachers, working constantly in compliance with regulations, through all its projects and a network of 41 partner organisations across Italy.
"Our workers engage daily with vulnerable households in difficult socio-economic conditions, but over these two weeks we have seen a worsening of the situation," explains Raffaela Milano, director of Save the Children's Italy-Europe programmes. She highlights how many families have "difficulty giving their children access to digital education because they have no internet connection, or perhaps only a mobile phone through which one or more children are forced to connect in order to at least keep up with their schoolwork."
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More broadly, according to Save the Children, "the economic crisis caused by Covid-19 risks leading to a dramatic increase in the number of children in absolute poverty, who in Italy already number 1.2 million — a figure that has more than tripled over the ten years since the 2008 crisis (rising from 3.7% to 12.5% in 2018). More than 1 in 4 families is already in a state of financial insecurity and risks falling into poverty if it were to remain without a source of income for three consecutive months." The "Non da soli" programme has enabled 165 family units to be taken into care, receiving food kits, also taking into account the fact that many children can no longer rely on school canteens, which guaranteed them at least one protein-rich meal a day. Likewise, through the "Fiocchi in ospedale" and "Per mano" projects, Save the Children is supporting around 380 new and expectant mothers who are facing the delicate experience of childbirth under conditions of great hardship, and who receive daily support including the purchase and distribution of goods for newborns, such as nappies and baby food."
From an educational standpoint, the distribution of 750 tablets and free internet connections to children and young people from the most hard-pressed families is also under way, to enable them to follow school activities remotely and take part in other educational activities outside the school setting. This goes hand in hand with educational and play materials, such as books, drawing tools and puzzles.
For its part, Emergency is present in Bergamo, the province hardest hit by the epidemic, with a medical and logistics team working alongside the Regional Emergency and Urgency Agency and the Alpine troops' health service to set up the new field hospital, entirely dedicated to treating patients affected by Covid-19. "We have proposed an effective reorganisation of spaces and flows to reduce the possibilities of contagion as much as possible. Every detail of the structure is essential to containing it: it is vital that every area is compartmentalised, that the areas for putting on and taking off protective equipment are clearly defined, and that the movement of people is planned and studied in advance," explained Rossella Miccio, president of Emergency.
"We are drawing on the experience we gained in Sierra Leone during the Ebola epidemic," the director added. "To do so, we have recalled some of our colleagues who were working abroad: we are trying to play our part at such a delicate moment for Italy." The organisation is also present in Brescia, and in Milan has launched a service for the delivery of essential goods, involving 150 volunteers capable of guaranteeing over 100 deliveries a day.
Finally, Intersos has launched an extraordinary coronavirus prevention intervention, stepping up the work of its medical teams and mobile units in areas of social exclusion in Rome and in the province of Foggia. "Our duty," the NGO explained, "is to ensure the continuity of the aid programmes we are carrying out around the world and assistance to people in need."
