In this sad story of Covid-19 that for three months has turned the world upside down — and, I find myself saying, our country and my city — Emergency has made its know-how and field-acquired experience available to offer support in managing the health emergency. The success story of the field hospital in Bergamo is well known — we covered it here on Lifegate too — built by the Alpine troops, the volunteers of Confartigianato and Civil Protection. A hospital that was then handed over to Emergency to manage. A breath of fresh air and a glimmer of hope for us in Bergamo, especially during the darkest period of this health emergency, when hospitals no longer knew where to put patients and, sadly, it was no longer even possible to cremate the bodies with dignity.

But Emergency is not only "field hospitals". Emergency, through Progetto Italia, has made available a range of mobile units and local service points to provide concrete help to those who need it at this time.

We spoke about it with Andrea Bellardinelli, head of Emergency's Progetto Italia.

Andrea Belardinelli responsabile progetto Italia di Emergency © Emergency

During the coronavirus emergency, the field hospital in Bergamo was a vital resource for the population. What determined the success of the project?

An important element of the Bergamo project was the opportunity to bring together so many different components of society. It was incredible work, made possible by the strength of the people who threw themselves into it. Physical strength, strength of purpose, but above all there was an enormous contribution of values that came together in an effort to overcome and defeat this difficult moment in Italian society, particularly in northern Italy and in Bergamo.

Read also Emergency gestisce l'ospedale da campo di Bergamo destinato al coronavirus

What does Programma Italia do?

Programma Italia delivers primary care and nursing assistance, with the enormous support of cultural mediators who are an important part of our staff. Together with institutions, we try to provide this kind of social and healthcare support in the places where we work.

Triage del Progetto sisma a Camerino durante l'emergenza Covid-19 © Simone Cerio / Emergency

What projects have you carried out under Progetto Italia to support the Covid-19 emergency?

In Italy we have several projects both in the north and the south, from Milan to Marghera, passing through Sardinia (Sassari), to central Italy where we are present in the areas hit by the 2016 earthquake, right down to the southern areas of Campania, Calabria and Sicily. Since this emergency began we have never stopped working, striving to do everything possible to prevent infection and keep both our staff and the people who come to our clinics safe, thanks to dedicated triage areas. We work to provide as much information as possible on prevention, trying to counter this epidemic.

EMERGENCY @emergency_ong

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A #Camerino, nelle #Marche, abbiamo attivato un progetto di ascolto e sostegno psicoterapeutico per ex pazienti #covid19, personale sanitario e familiari di persone ricoverate o che hanno perso qualcuno a causa del virus #ProgrammaItalia Leggi: bit.ly/3e0iPxv

74 4 19 mag 2020 · Apri su X →

Can you tell us more about the Camerino project and why you are there?

The Camerino project is a project of psychological support and health education. With our mobile unit "Polibus", a fully equipped mobile clinic, we offer psychological support to healthcare staff and health education, but we are also available for the families of Covid patients and for those who have recovered from the illness. Those with a relative in hospital can also learn about the behaviours and rules to follow in everyday life to minimise the risk of contagion.

We made ourselves available to the local health authority, just as we had done at the time of the earthquake. All our projects are based on memoranda of understanding with the local health authority or the Region, with the aim of joining forces to support the population — precisely this population of Camerino that had already been struck by a calamitous event such as the 2016 earthquake. Since then we have remained available to calibrate this type of support as well as possible within the region, which is one of the founding principles of Programma Italia.

Sportelli mobili del progetto Italia di Emergency, attivi sul territorio per contrastare l'epidemia di Coronavirus — Mobile service points of Emergency's Progetto Italia, active across the territory to counter the Coronavirus epidemic © Simone Cerio/Emergency

The end of this emergency is still a long way off and it probably won't be the last. Based on your experience, what recommendation would you like to make for the future?

To bring together the various components of all the people who are collectively facing the health emergency at this moment. To stay united and to listen to the recommendations we are given, trying to collaborate as individuals rather than as organisations. I believe that the responsibility of every single person is essential and I think Italians have demonstrated that. What I can say to the government is to try to support as much as possible all those realities, including those in the third sector, that are striving with enormous effort to do their part in ensuring that this situation ends as soon as possible and that we can come through it in the best way possible.

Emergency, not just hospitals but wide-ranging projects to tackle the Covid-19 emergency in Italy