Bambino Gesù Hospital and the UNHCR Jordan on Tuesday, August 8, agreed to provide badly needed care to Jordanian and vulnerable refugee children with serious illnesses. The signing ceremony marks the start of a partnership that will ensure that more than 300 children receive life-saving surgery in 2017. The collaboration will also allow an exchange of professional expertise and a mutual learning opportunity for healthcare professionals joining the initiative.
Bambino Gesù Hospital, founded in 1869, has now become a highly regarded center for the health of children and adolescents from Italy and abroad. It is the largest sub-specialty children’s hospital and research center in Europe. It provides a broad range of care and surgeries.
UNHCR Jordan supports primary and secondary health care assistance to refugees in the country, but lacks the resources to provide treatment to many serious cases. Thanks to this agreement, medical missions that will take place between now and the end of the year will provide cardiovascular, ophthalmic, orthopedic and neurological surgeries.
Mariella Enoc, president of Hospital Bambino Gesù of the Holy See, said of the initiative: “When there is genuine care and common interests only to help those in need, a response can be immediate. Our hospital is pleased of the cooperation with UNHCR, I was here in Jordan last week only, in a few days we deployed a pediatric cardiovascular surgeon to work closely with the team of the Jordan University Hospital and over 30 children with severe heart malformations received consultation and were selected for future surgeries.”
Daniela Cicchella, UNHCR Assistant Representative for Protection, said of the collaboration: “Additional health support that benefits refugees and Jordanians alike is warmly welcomed, especially at a time of reduced opportunities for resettlement based on medical grounds. This contribution provides a vital service and an opportunity to exchange expertise in pediatric surgery”.
UNHCR is an acronym for “United National High Commission on Refugees.” It is the UN refugee agency.
