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Health and staff training in Iraq

Since 2017, we have supported the Health Directorate of the Governorate of Basra in the development of healthcare services and staff training.

A project to improve services and diagnostics in the departments

In collaboration with the country’s government, we are developing specialist services for the city of Basra's health system, to bring it into line with international standards and insure it can meet the region’s growing demand. With a total allocation of 32 million dollars, through the city’s Nuclear Medicine Unit, and thanks to the direct participation of Niguarda Hospital in Milan, we have invested 22 million dollars to improve oncological diagnostics, building a core medicine department fitted with state-of-the-art equipment.

We also plan to improve haematology, oncology and surgery services at the city's Paediatric Hospital and have already renovated and put new infrastructure in the existing building under a budget of 3 million dollars. We are also building a new oncological centre and aim to improve diagnostics and treatment protocols at the hospital, bringing them into line with international standards, thanks to collaboration with Giannina Gaslini Paediatric Institute in Genoa. The initiative should last two years and the budget should amount to around 7 million dollars.

In 2021 we progressed our pediatric training project, renovation and expansion of the Basra Cancer Children Hospital as well as the supply of specific medical oncology equipment.

 

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

The 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)Agenda for Sustainable Development is an action programme signed in September 2015 by 193 UN member states. It includes 17 goals for socio-economic development of communities and local areas. Through this project, we are helping reach the goal of health and well-being for all (Goal 3).

Technologies we use

Both these initiatives relied on an engineering team, specialists in designing accommodation for hospital, and on medical consultants from Niguarda Hospital in Milan, the Gaslini Institute in Genoa and San Raffaele Hospital in Milan. We also customised the training programme for doctors, assessed protocols for bringing in equipment and medical technologies.

How we take on challenges

For support with diagnostics and treating complicated cases, we set up a long-distance service for sharing video calls and telemedicine with the hospital in Genoa, as well as an intake system for Iraqi patients, so they can be monitored by both teams.

Impact on the environment and communities

When building an infrastructure, one has to follow international procedures and respect environmental and HSE rules. As the building site is fenced off, our impact on local people in terms of noise and interaction is minimal.

Our achievements to date

We have requested equipment and installations for the nuclear medicine department at Al-Sadr Teaching Hospital in Basra and built the infrastructure to house them and the building work for the infrastructure that will house the equipment has also already been assigned. We have also improved haematology, oncology and surgery, initially renovating the systems and installations the hospital needs in order to fully function. 

Finally, in 2018/2019  we have provided equipment, some of it urgent, and essential medicines, and launched a programme of assistance and on-the-job training for Iraqi doctors and paramedics, bringing them to Italy to work at the Giannina Gaslini Institute paediatric hospital in Genoa, and sent specialists from Gaslini to Iraq in exchange.

Safety first

Safety in the workplace is an imperative value we want to share with our employees, contractors and local stakeholders. We are committed to eliminate accidents and protect the integrity of our assets. We consolidate a culture of safety through management and organization models, digital tools and communication initiatives. Our goal is strengthening the awareness of our people and their sense of responsibility toward themselves and others, by expanding HSE tools and digitalization to make corporate processes safer, more efficient and faster. 

Partnerships

To carry out the project, we are working with the health directorate of Basra governorate, the Giannina Gaslini Institute paediatric hospital in Genoa, and Niguarda and San Raffaele hospitals in Milan.