Activities

Strengthening of the healthcare service network
In 2010 the building of the two new Health Centers continued, as well as the supply of equipment, instruments and furniture to upgrade the first-level healthcare facilities in the Municipality. In addition, the rehabilitation of a Health Center, the construction of 2 nutrition centers at the Hospital da Divina Providência were completed and the upgrading of another nutrition facility was carried out.
Finally, following the supply of ambulances at the end of 2009, the integrated system for the emergency transportation of patients in the 6 boroughs of the Municipality became fully operational.

Improvement of the technical-managerial capabilities of healthcare personnel
Thanks to the collaboration agreements with Instituto de Medicina Integral Prof. Fernando Figueira (IMIP) of Recife and the Pediatric University Hospital David Bernardino in Luanda, the training program for medical and paramedical personnel of the Health Centers involved in the project was launched with specialization courses in Gynecology and Obstetrics, Neonatal Care, Pediatrics, Nutrition and Laboratory Biology. With IMIP, in particular, a two-year specialization course in Pediatrics was activated in Recife, as well as short two month long courses for the Municipality’s doctors and paramedics.

Strengthening of the epidemiological surveillance system
In collaboration with the Ministry of Health, a training program was planned and then activated for healthcare operators with the objective of standardizing systems for the collection and analysis of data at the municipal level.
All the Health Centers have been equipped with IT instruments with the aim of creating an informational flow between peripheral healthcare facilities and the project coordination center; to be extended, in the future, to second level hospitals.

Strengthening and extension of maternal-child healthcare services
Following the training and supervision of the medical and paramedical personnel, maternal-child healthcare services provided by the Health Centers have been increased and, thanks also to the collaboration with the Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Pediatrico Burlo Garofolo of the University of Trieste, the pediatric services of the Hospital da Divina Providência have been further developed.
Support has also been provided to the central laboratory of the Hospital da Divina Providência by expanding it and increasing its personnel, and the peripheral diagnostic network has also been strengthened by supplying equipment to the Health Centers’ existing laboratories and by opening up new ones as well.
In addition to building two new nutrition centers, in order to further strengthen the Municipality’s nutritional services, a follow-up nutrition facility in one of the Health Centers was upgraded and two new facilities were opened up in two other Health Centers.
Moreover, information and education activities aimed at promoting an integrated system of preventive nutritional and hygienic healthcare education were conducted for the Health Center’s outpatients, in particular mothers. Since the beginning of the project, this activity has involved almost 200,000 people.

Finally, in 2009 and 2010, Eni Foundation supported with its own staff and equipment the vaccination campaigns promoted by the health authorities aimed at contrasting the resurgence of polio in the country in recent years.