In Kinshasa, Italian Ambassador Pio Mariani opened a training course for Congolese doctors for the treatment of burn victims. The 3-week course is part of a varied programme of initiatives funded by Italian Development Cooperation. Coordinated by Prof. Michele Masellis from the University of Palermo, the course involves 24 doctors from Mont Amba hospital. Its aim is to teach basic techniques in the field of burns, a widespread problem in the Democratic Republic of the Congo which suffers, however, from a lack of technical skills to address it. The project includes the construction of a meetings room and two wards for child burn victims.
At the end of the course the four best trainees will in turn travel to Congo’s hospitals as trainers to pass on the techniques they have learned. The Congolese Minister of Health voiced his appreciation for the project and his hope that Italian Development Cooperation will organise other initiatives in the sector, most notably the creation of a serious burns unit in Lubumbashi.