World TB Day 2010. The PHL-IdC activities on the Island of Pemba
Insert in News the day March 24, 2010
The World TB Day dedicated to tuberculosis (TB), which falls on March 24th, brings the latest data on the multidrug resistant cases of the disease. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) Report released on March 18th, in some areas of the world, one in four people with TB has is a case resistant to standard drugs regimens, and this is the highest level ever reported to WHO. March 24th was the day when, in 1882, Robert Koch reported the discovery of the TB bacillus. This is why this date was chosen to raise awareness on TB.
The Public Health Laboratory Ivo de Carneri (PHL-IdC) on the Island of Pemba (Zanzibar, Tanzania), built by Ivo de Carneri Foundation and run in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare of Zanzibar, works in the field of TB diagnosis and has recently been recognized as the National reference laboratory for this disease, thanks to the activities started in 2007 on TB diagnosis.
The PHL-IdC, officially launched on June 12th 2000, this year has reached the milestone of ten years of research and training on the endemic diseases in the Island, and in Sub-Saharan Africa, thanks to the work of local staff and national and international collaborations. In 2005 it was recognized WHO Collaborating Centre for Schistosomiasis and Intestinal Parasitic Infections; this new acknowledgement for TB marks the increasingly important role within the Zanzibar health system.
For information:
Ivo de Carneri Foundation
tel. 0039 02 28 900 393/401
info@fondazionedecarneri.it
World Water Day 2010. Safe water for the Island of Pemba
Insert in News the day March 22, 2010
Almost 39 percent of the world’s population, over 2.6 billion of people, mainly in Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, live without improved sanitation facilities, according to WHO and UNICEF (WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme, Progress on Sanitation and Drinking-Water – 2010 Update Report). Access to safe water is still not guaranteed in some parts of the world. World Water Day 2010, held on March 22, calls the attention to the connection between safe water and health, as the theme Clean water for a Healthy World highlights. As a matter of fact, many diseases can be transmitted through contaminated water: the WHO reports that almost one billion people have no access to safe water; the use of unsafe water and the lack of adequate sanitation are responsible for almost 2 million annual deaths from diarrhoeal diseases; more than 50 countries still report cholera cases each year.
The Ivo de Carneri Foundation has been carrying on a project involving water since 2005, when the rehabilitation of water sources was started on the island of Pemba (Zanzibar archipelago, Tanzania). The project has been divided into different phases and developed in collaboration with the Department of Public Health, Microbiology and Virology – University of Milan, Ingegneria Senza Frontiere Trento and locally with the Public Health Laboratory Ivo de Carneri and the Zanzibar Water Authority. Between 2005 and 2006 (Phase 1), the quality of water sources in a selected district of the island was evaluated. Moreover, the local staff was trained and interventions in health education were made. Between 2007 and 2009 (Phase 2), primary water sources and water pipes were renovated in order to make them suitable for the distribution of drinking water. Furthermore, new wells were built and the water supply network was extended. Meanwhile, the Ivo de Carneri Foundation carried on with its educational activities addressed to the local community, in order to inform the population about water safety and the use of water. The third phase of the project will imply interventions on a small island near Pemba, called Kojani, where water supply is inadequate and where there are cholera outbreaks.
For information:
Ivo de Carneri Foundation
tel. 0039 02 28 900 393/401
info@fondazionedecarneri.it
Ivo de Carneri Award 2010
Insert in News the day March 17, 2010
The Ivo de Carneri Foundation announces an Award for the year 2010 to recognize a PhD or post-graduated course thesis of outstanding quality, in the field of parasitology. Such Award is restricted to graduates from Sub-Saharan Africa. The hard copy of the application and the documents should be sent by 15 May 2010. The Award will be given at the XXVI National Congress of the Società Italiana di Parassitologia, which will be held in Perugia, 22-25 June 2010.
For additional information, please download the attached document.
For information:
Ivo de Carneri Foundation
tel. 0039 02 28 900 393/401
info@fondazionedecarneri.it
Appointment at Do the right thing!
Insert in Events the day March 9, 2010
On 12, 13 and 14 March, the Ivo de Carneri Foundation is going to be at Do the right thing! – Fair of the critical consumption and sustainable lifestyles – organized by Terre di Mezzo Events. The Foundation is going to have a stand where, in addition to providing information on projects and activities, some crafts from Zanzibar will be offered to raise funds.
Come to meet us:
Stand PP31 – “Peace and Involvement” section – Fieramilanocity – Porta Scarampo 14.
The hours of the Fair are:
Friday 12: from 9.00 a.m. to 9.00 p.m.
Saturday 13: from 9.00 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Sunday 14: from 10.00 a.m. to 7 p.m.
On Tuesday, 9th March, a meeting is going to be held at the headquarters of the Ivo de Carneri Foundation to explain the organization of the days and to update all the volunteers on the activities of the Foundation itself.
For information:
Camilla Veronese
0039 02 28 900 393
c.veronese@fondazionedecarneri.it