A medical initiative
to bring health to children
with heart diseases.

The German NGO "Archemed" has been running a healthcare assistance program in Eritrea for many years, covering multiple disciplines. In 2002, the treatment of congenital heart diseases began, and two Italian teams (Padua and Massa Carrara) joined the German and Swiss groups. Thanks to the determination, combined with excellent organizational skills, of the responsible parties in the two involved Operating Units, pediatric cardiology and cardiothoracic surgery, the project has been successfully implemented, with 15 missions to date. "Med.Action Children," a Volunteer Organization that will support the missions, both financially

and in identifying objectives, is dedicated to Elias, an Italian-Eritrean child who succumbed to a rejection crisis after a transplant for a severe heart condition. After the planned surgeries, the professionals stay until the last operated children are fully stabilized. The scheduled interventions concern both simple and complex heart defects, which, once treated, ensure the patient a practically normal lifespan and quality of life; lesions that require a particularly complex follow-up with multiple high-risk surgeries cannot be treated, at least for now.

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An On-Site
Surgical Program

The international project aims to carry out an on-site surgical program for children with congenital heart diseases identified by pediatricians. At the same time, it trains local medical, nursing, and technical personnel to gradually become self-sufficient in diagnosing and treating children with congenital heart defects. The working group includes all the necessary professionals for the diagnosis and treatment of small patients with congenital heart disease. A team of cardiologists performs an initial screening to start surgical activities immediately afterward. After the planned surgeries, some professionals stay until the last operated children are fully stabilized. The scheduled interventions concern both simple and complex heart defects, which, once treated, ensure the patient a practically normal lifespan and quality of life; lesions that require a particularly complex follow-up with multiple high-risk surgeries cannot be treated, at least for now.

Prof. Giovanni Stellin,
the scientific coordinator of the missions,
conveys contagious enthusiasm to all the professionals involved.

A great team spirit holds the team together, and on a completely voluntary basis, they dedicate their energies and expertise to these less fortunate children.