Gino Strada and Renzo Piano have laid the foundation stone of what will be Emergency's paediatric surgery centre in Uganda. Because everyone has the right to receive medical care.
A new centre of excellence in paediatric surgery run by Emergency is about to take shape on the shores of Lake Victoria, in the African country of Uganda, a few kilometres from the capital Kampala. The foundation stone was "laid" on 10 February in the village of Entebbe by architect Renzo Piano and by the founder of the Italian non-governmental organisation Gino Strada – who recently received the Sunhak peace prize for his commitment to peace. Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni was also present at the ceremony.
The choice of Uganda as the new home for a specialised centre of this kind was made following representations by the health ministers of the countries belonging to the African network of medical excellence (Anme), the network established in 2009 to develop high-quality, free healthcare systems in Africa for the population, in accordance with the human right to receive adequate medical care. The member states, in addition to Uganda, are Chad, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Djibouti, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia and Sudan. The Ugandan centre will be the second Anme/Emergency centre after the Salam in Khartoum, in Sudan. With three operating theatres and 78 beds, it will also serve as a training centre for young local doctors and nurses.
Anme identified Uganda as the right country for this type of centre given that the infant mortality rate is very high. Even today, 138 children under the age of five die for every thousand born, and for this reason the only solution is to guarantee free access to healthcare for families living in Ugandan villages and in neighbouring countries. President Museveni's institutional presence should be seen as an expression of gratitude for the Kampala government's decision to participate in the project by granting the land on which the surgical centre will be built.
"Millions of children die every year simply because they have no access to medical care. A lack of resources? Too little concern for the suffering of part of the population? A failure of government responsibility? Whatever the reason, the question is always the same: should we continue to tolerate this scandal, or should we make every possible effort to save or improve the lives of millions of human beings?" declared Gino Strada.
Renzo Piano's studio, meanwhile, has produced the design for the hospital, which will be built using a traditional technique employing rammed earth, providing a thermal mass that will keep temperature and humidity constant throughout the building. Energy needs will be met by electricity generated by 2,600 photovoltaic panels.
"When Gino Strada asked me to take part in this new Emergency challenge, I didn't think twice. This hospital will be a model of medical excellence, environmental sustainability, energy independence and harmonious use of space. We want to use the resources of the earth, water and the sun," Piano explained. "The hospital will be surrounded by nature. Vegetation will be the horizon for our young guests, trees as a metaphor for the healing process."
Emergency's goal has always been to treat everyone, without exception, in every part of the world. Residents, citizens, foreigners, victims of war, whether aware of it or not. To achieve this goal, Emergency, from 1995 to the present day, has provided care and assistance to 22 million human beings.