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In 2025, the Agency continued to prioritize its support for the Pouponnière, which has always been passionately run by the volunteer Emy Massignan.
This year, the Tavola Valdese, which has supported the Agency since 2018, funded a new project dedicated to early childhood, aimed at improving care for newborn babies. Despite a difficult period for international cooperation in general and rising local inflation, 2025 was a year of great achievements for APPA.
Below is a summary of the main activities.
Medical missions and support to HGA. Cooperation activities through on-site medical missions were further expanded in 2025 compared to the already positive year 2024. In particular, an ophthalmological mission was carried out thanks to the well-established team coordinated by Dr. Claudio Bondi of the association World Medical Aid Onlus (WMA).
A valuable contribution was provided by the pediatric medical mission of Ciro Buono and Serena Priami, two residents from the School of Specialization in Pediatrics at the University of Pavia, who departed on mission in March. This was followed in November by another two-month mission carried out by Rossana Di Micco and Greta Rosset.
Still within the medical field, throughout the month of February 2025 the third consecutive nursing mission was carried out by Dr. Chiara Alessandrini, supported by Alfredo Squeo, Vincenzo La Rovere, and Tommaso Ceccarelli. During the ame period, they also contributed their experience as educators, problem solvers, and entertainers at the Pouponnière. The four also worked with the youth community of Ayamé, improving a much-appreciated basketball court, installing a five-a-side football pitch, and organizing memorable entertainment events featuring magic and illusion shows.
These initiatives were complemented by the intervention carried out for the fourth consecutive year by the DIDA Association of Pistoia, which, thanks to the skilled and passionate generosity of Elena Bruni, organized a mission involving Chiara Calogero and Marialuce Corsi.
In addition to these projects, new and interesting initiatives in support of the rural community were launched in 2025.
The first, funded by the Rotary Club Minerva of Pavia, enables the construction of three wells providing safe drinking water for communities that have always relied on poor-quality water. This initiative will be accompanied by collective awareness-raising activities on hygiene and infection reduction.
The second initiative, the “Attiéké Project,” represents a real novelty for APPA. It is a food security initiative developed in collaboration with the lakeside community of Tiagba. Funded by the Prosolidar Foundation, the project enables Agrimagni to produce palm oil for food use in small volumes and allows the women’s cooperative of Tiagba to improve the production of attiéké, a cassava semolina that is a national staple food in Côte d’Ivoire.
Also noteworthy is the investment, together with WMA ophthalmologists, in the “Pediatric Cataracts” project, which in 2026 will make it possible to prevent the almost certain blindness of dozens of children in the region.
The implementation of these new projects was made possible thanks to generous donations from Fondazione Banca del Monte di Lombardia (FBML), specifically supporting pediatric missions, Prosolidar, Rotary, Tavola Valdese, the LUVE company, as well as fundraising initiatives launched by pediatricians and the generosity of our long-standing partner, the Piccolo Mondo Association of Cesena.
However, the most significant event of 2025 was APPA’s award of a prestigious grant from MAECI (the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs) through AICS (the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation). The project, entitled “Children First”, clearly indicates its beneficiaries and its area of focus.
This is a major three-year project—the largest ever undertaken by APPA—awarded in April 2025 and launched on September 1st, 2025. Its aim is to promote children’s rights, social protection, and the economic sustainability of families in the South Comoé region of Côte d’Ivoire.
The project is implemented by Agenzia n. 1 di Pavia per Ayamé (APPA), in consortium with the international partners Mani Tese and Fondazione Gruppo Abele, and in partnership with six other local organizations.
In 2024, the Agency, in line with the guidelines approved by the Assembly on December 14, 2023, continued to support the Pouponnière of Ayamé, passionately led by the volunteer Emi Massignan. For the current year, the Agency also allocated most of its resources (including all proceeds from the 5×1000 tax designation) to the Pouponnière. Since 2018, the project “Bien rentré au foyer” has been ongoing with the decisive contribution of the Tavola Valdese. The project concluded in 2024. Tavola Valdese will support us in 2025 with a new project dedicated to early childhood.
The year 2024 was marked by intensive mission activities, with approximately 500 person-days spent in Ayamé, a true record not seen for many years:
The well-established pediatric missions from the specialty school of the Policlinico of Pavia (Emilia Rizzo and Claudia Santamaria, who went on mission from mid-March to mid-May, followed by Mariano Di Rosa, Matea Jankovic, and Ilaria Pusca from mid-October to mid-December 2024).
Two ophthalmology missions carried out by a five-member team coordinated by Dr. Claudio Bondi from the association World Medical Aid Onlus (WMA), with which the Agency has long collaborated, providing logistical and organizational support.
In the medical field, the nursing mission in February 2024 involved Drs. Chiara Alessandrini and Giorgia Gatto, serving at the hospital in Cesena, assisted by Alfredo Squeo and Vincenzo La Rovere, who during the same period shared their expertise as educators and problem solvers at the Pouponnière. The four also worked with the youth community of Ayamé, installing a highly appreciated basketball court.
Adding to these numerous missions was the third consecutive mission by the DIDA association from Pistoia. Thanks to the competent and passionate generosity of Elena Bruni, DIDA organized a mission with three “experts”: Emiliano Spinelli, Chiara Calogero, and Marialuce Corsi. They applied innovative psychomotor support techniques through dance with the residents of the Pouponnière and the local youth community.
Support to the General Hospital of Ayamé (HGA) focused on medical missions and skills exchange.
The environmental rehabilitation project in Ayamé unfortunately almost came to a halt due to both the limited funds the Agency could allocate and the precarious administrative and financial conditions of the Ayamé municipality.
The project supporting rural populations in the brousse saw interesting solar installation projects in 2024, including the reactivation of the Bilekro plant. For this lakeside village, an ambulance dugout canoe was donated, proving immediately useful for emergency water transport of patients to the Ayamé hospital.
Our “events group” in 2024 continued to contribute through traditional initiatives (markets, charity dinners), as well as an appreciated piano concert and participation in the charity event organized in May by the Ghislieri College entitled “Quel che passa il collegio”.
In the last week of November, a delegation from the Ayamé municipality, led by Mayor Mr. Eba Ellogné, met in Pavia with the Agency and the main sponsors of the initiatives: University of Pavia, Policlinico Hospital, and the Municipality of Pavia. During this meeting, the “constructive twinning” that has linked the two communities since 1997 was further strengthened.
The approach to the Cesena-based non-profit association “Piccolo Mondo” was very positive, as from 2024 it included our project among its funding destinations.
The year was characterized by increasing support to the Pouponnière. The high inflation rate affecting food prices, the need to adjust salaries to comply with legal requirements, and the need to expand the reception service beyond the 60-child threshold led to the allocation of 75% of the Agency’s total resources to the Pouponnière. Fortunately, the 8×1000 funding from the Tavola Valdese and the 5×1000 contributions from private donors continued to provide significant support.
The Missions continued at a very high pace, confirming all the initiatives launched in 2022: pediatric missions, nursing missions, support for the Pouponnière, DiDa Mission, and 2 ophthalmology missions. With about 340 person-days of presence, 2023 represents a true record of Italy-Ayamé cooperation for APPA.
Support to the surrounding rural areas also saw the installation of a new 3 kW solar panel system and the restoration of a previous installation in Bilekro.
Collaboration with the Municipality of Ayamé for urban sanitation, however, continued at a much slower pace. Unfortunately, in 2023, the interesting activity of composting the city’s organic waste had to be suspended due to difficulties encountered in municipal management.
As the grip of COVID loosened and the possibility to travel reopened, 2022 became the year of missions.
A) PEDIATRIC MISSIONS.
A special agreement with the Pediatrics Specialty School of the University of Pavia initiated an interesting, ongoing collaboration between Pavia and the Ayamé Hospital (HGA) in the pediatric field. The project involves 2-month missions for a pair of senior residents, to be carried out in rotation 2 or 3 times a year.
The launch of the cultural exchange and know-how transfer in 2022 was received very positively both by the specialty school and by HGA. This experience will be repeated in 2023 and 2024.
B) OPHTHALMOLOGICAL MISSIONS.
The “Cataract Weeks” resumed with the contribution of WMA (World Medical Aid) volunteers, who made 3 trips to Ayamé in 2022 to catch up on all the delays caused by the COVID break.
C) NURSING MISSIONS.
Collaboration began with volunteers from Cesena, who brought expertise in emergency nursing and early childhood education methodology to the Pouponnière.
D) A new initiative was launched with a DiDa team of volunteers from Pistoia.
They used dance lessons as a tool to mobilize and improve integration among youth and adolescents in Ayamé. Specific skills in psychomotor therapy led to improvements in areas never before explored by our cooperation.
The support for the Pouponnière strongly marked 2022. Assistance to the orphanage is increasingly becoming the main commitment of the NGO. Thanks to continued funding from Tavola Valdese for the multi-year project Bien Rentré au foyer (previously mentioned) and to contributions from the 5×1000, we were able to ensure high standards of care for the over 55 children hosted in 2022.
The urban ecology project with the Municipality of Ayamé suffered from the inability to provide assistance during the COVID period and the lack of local attention to urban hygiene issues. As a result, the 2022 activities experienced significant delays.
The ongoing Covid-19 pandemic prevents missions to Côte d’Ivoire, but the Agency continues to provide support for cooperation with Ayamé from a distance. The Ayamé Hospital rehabilitation program, funded by the “Fondo Garzanti”, is completed on schedule: the neonatal, pediatric, and pharmacy departments are renovated, and equipment is sent to address age-related conditions (cataracts and hearing loss).
In the rural village of Baffia, the medical dispensary and the maternity home for women giving birth are fully rehabilitated and equipped.
The Pouponnière is awarded the “National Excellence Prize 2021” by the President of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire, recognizing it as the best child protection institution.
The Bien rentrée au Foyer program continues, focusing on the active reintegration of children discharged from the Pouponnière into their original family communities. A successful partnership between AgriMagni and the Groupe Abele from Grand-Bassam enables the production of “Choco Plus”, the first chocolate entirely produced in Côte d’Ivoire.
At the Annual General Meeting on December 14, the Agency’s governing board is renewed for the 2022-2024 term. Marco Morandotti is the new president of the Agency, succeeding Ernesto Bettinelli, who led it uninterrupted for 31 years.
Franco Magni, founder of the eponymous Foundation, which has promoted agricultural development in the Ayamé area since 2006 and has supported the Agency’s healthcare, environmental, and child protection projects, passes away at the age of 93.
Despite the devastating Covid-19 pandemic, the Agency does not interrupt its cooperation initiatives in the Ayamé area. In the healthcare sector, the “Framework Cooperation Agreement” with the Ministry of Health and Public Hygiene (MSHP) becomes operational, aiming to relaunch the Ayamé Hospital.
Thanks to the “Fondo Garzanti”, significant investments are made to modernize several facilities and departments, such as radiology, which is completely renovated and equipped with a mammography machine and a new ultrasound.
At the end of January, ophthalmologists from the Tarquinia-based ONLUS World Medical Aid arrive at the HGA, where they perform surgeries on many patients. Covid patients are assisted by the Pasteur Institute, which takes over the management of the HGA’s medical analysis laboratories. Attention to the healthcare needs of the rural villages of the brousse is not neglected: the Rotary Minerva of Pavia, with the support of the Rotary Foundation, renovates the dispensary and the maternity center in Baffia, and provides the necessary medical equipment.
Support for the Pouponnière of Ayamé is further increased, and the Bien rentré au foyer project continues regularly, thanks to co-financing from Tavola Valdese. Environmental rehabilitation efforts in Ayamé continue, with increasing involvement from the municipal administration.
The relaunch and development of the Ayamé Hospital are at the heart of the Agency’s commitment. After repeated and intense meetings in Abidjan and Pavia with the Ministry of Health of Côte d’Ivoire (MSHP), the public nature of the Hospital is defined, with a highly participatory organization, the active involvement of the local community, and the Agency, which will collaborate through qualified healthcare projects and investments. A specific agreement between the Ministry and the Agency implements the accord. The Agency intervenes concretely thanks to the significant donation obtained from the trust “Societas societatum” (established in 2006 by Livio Garzanti).
On May 31, at a press conference at the University of Pavia, attended by the Ambassador of Côte d’Ivoire, Prof. Janine Tagliante Saracino, and the Director-General of the Ministry of Health, Dr. Edi Ossohou, Prof. Mario Cera, trustee executor, explains the goals of the donation. Other Agency cooperation initiatives continue to progress smoothly.
Child protection in the Ayamé area, with the Pouponnière at the forefront, is further enriched by the continuation of the Bien rentré au foyer project (co-financed by Tavola Valdese), ensuring that children reintegrated into their family environment receive education and adequate food support. The environmental rehabilitation program focuses on implementing a waste sorting and recycling plan in collaboration with the Municipality of Ayamé.
Particular attention is given to the precarious hydrogeological situation of the area, caused by the difficult regulation of the Ano-Assué stream that runs through the Hospital. The Agency commissions an Italian engineer, skilled in hydrogeology, to conduct an in-depth study on risk prevention for the local community, which was unfortunately confirmed by the disastrous flood on October 15.
The Agency finances the reinforcement of the banks near the Hospital, while awaiting the Ivorian government to carry out a long-lasting and effective solution for the entire watercourse.
Support for the village of Bilekro materializes with the complete rebuilding of the dilapidated primary school, thanks to a fundraising campaign promoted on Facebook.
The Agency’s programs in various sectors—healthcare, environment, and engineering—are managed by volunteers (Marco Morandotti, Anna Fornasari, Giovanni Sacchi, Paolo Ratto), coordinated by Rino Rocchelli.
On July 3, the Agency holds an extraordinary assembly, convened to update its statutes in accordance with the new regulations for the Third Sector.
After numerous ministerial meetings (with the participation of the Italian Ambassador to Côte d’Ivoire, Stefano Lo Savio), a satisfactory agreement is reached between the Ministry of Health of Côte d’Ivoire and the Agency regarding the organization of the Ayamé Hospital. The State appoints new leaders at HGA, with the substantial involvement of Emi Massignan, a key figure in Italian cooperation. The short-to-medium-term goal is to provide the population of Ayamé and the surrounding villages with adequate healthcare services, especially in obstetrics, neonatology, and pediatrics.
The Agency is actively committed to supporting this plan, promoting impactful projects such as the dental project. For this purpose, a dental office is renovated and equipped with new, modern equipment sent by the Agency.
Following Barbara Braggion’s mission, young doctor Anna Fornasari carries out a visit to assess the operation and needs of the different departments. Among the rural dispensaries established over the years by the Agency, Bilekro stands out, as it is able to assist pregnant women in the village, significantly reducing maternal mortality due to unattended childbirths, thanks to the work of a full-time specialized nurse.
The Tavola Valdese, with proceeds from the 8×1000 tax allocation, contributes €30,000 to the Bien rentré au foyer project, which focuses on the social and educational integration of children leaving the Pouponnière and returning to their original families.
The environmental rehabilitation program continues, albeit “at a slow pace” while awaiting adequate funding. It involves collaboration with a local association of young, dedicated environmentalists (Les Amis de l’Environnement). The waste sorting program continues to develop, with the transformation of organic waste into compost, which is then used in local agriculture.
During the Annual General Meeting on December 12, the Agency’s governing board is renewed for the upcoming three-year period (2019-2021).
We mourn the passing of Ettina Confalonieri, a member of our Coordination Committee and a founding member of the Agency, as well as a distinguished professor at the University of Pavia. Other founding members of the Agency, Gabriella Gilberti and Alberto Savojni, have also passed away.
The VII ophthalmic surgery mission achieves excellent results, as usual. However, the Ayamé Hospital is facing a severe crisis due to the insufficient number of qualified local medical staff, a decline in performance and hospitalizations, and poor management. The subsequent medical missions of midwife Loredana Musarra Amato and Dr. Marco Massi confirm these difficulties. The Agency strongly urges the Ivorian health authorities to take the necessary steps to relaunch the Hospital. This goal is pursued through several meetings at the ministerial and regional levels with Alberto Majocchi and Rino Rocchelli. The local population, represented by the Chefferie, also demands urgent and decisive action from the State.
Thanks to volunteer Paolo Ratto (an engineer at Montana SpA), the environmental rehabilitation program in Ayamé continues, albeit at a “slow pace,” while awaiting appropriate funding. Ratto also assists the Bilekro population in digging a well to provide the village with potable water.
The Pouponnière hosts up to 78 children in need, mostly from the rural areas (brousse). Inevitably, the costs increase significantly: in order to maintain the high quality of services that has always characterized the nursery, the Agency promotes various self-financing initiatives. In particular, it launches the “Shareholders for the Pouponnière” campaign, inviting people to invest at least €5,000 annually in child protection.
Barbara Braggion, a graduate student in engineering-architecture at the University of Pavia, wins a scholarship (the “cooperation and knowledge” fund) awarded by the same University for a study-work stay in Ayamé. The purpose of her stay is to develop her thesis on the “Building Redevelopment of the Ayamé Hospital.”
Barbara’s mission (from October to December) proceeds successfully, and her project is used by the Agency in the search for solutions to the hospital’s structural problems.
The XXV anniversary of the Agency’s founding is marked, but no celebration is organized. Instead, the focus is on the future through the development of important projects that will engage cooperation in Ayamé in the coming years.
“A Smile for Ayamé” aims to promote a widespread dental prevention campaign among the local youth population. “Waste as a Resource for Ayamé” focuses on the sorting of urban solid waste to promote recycling, generate effective entrepreneurial initiatives, and increase employment levels in the area.
“Reducing Maternal Mortality in the Ayamé Area” aims to reduce deaths caused by pregnancies and childbirths that are insufficiently supported by rural healthcare facilities, which are still unable to handle emergencies, by 30%. “A Good Return to Family” seeks to ensure the full reintegration of children discharged from the Pouponnière into their original communities, along with their education, while providing necessary support and food assistance to their families.
Significant achievements include the construction and inauguration of the triage area as part of the hospital’s redevelopment project in Ayamé, co-financed by UBI BANCA, and the renovation and activation of the rural dispensary in Toliesso, which adds to the other “outposts of the Ayamé Hospital.”
To achieve these goals, several missions to Ayamé take place throughout the year, involving Paolo Ratto, Marco Morandotti, Tonino Piccinni, Roberto Rossella, Barbara Braggion, Rino Rocchelli, and Alberto Majocchi.
The Agency continues its commitment in Ayamé by ensuring support for the main local services, both financially and through the usual professional and technological assistance missions. In the medical field, Laura Montanari, assisted by Morena Arturi and Maria Rivato, conducts gynecological and laparoscopic training at the Ayamé Hospital, in collaboration with a team from the Ivorian University of Bouaké.
The sixth surgical mission by the ophthalmologists from Pavia follows, during which 70 surgeries and over 100 consultations are carried out for patients from various locations across Côte d’Ivoire. This is made possible thanks to the significant logistical support from the Rotary Bietry of Abidjan.
For the development of the Ayamé Hospital, the first phase of the “redevelopment project” (co-financed by UBI BANCA) is completed, which includes the construction of a new, more functional building for maintenance services.
As part of the environmental rehabilitation program in Ayamé, work begins on installing a lifting pump (purchased with funding from the Rotary Foundation, thanks to the initiative of Rotary Minerva in Pavia). This pump is necessary for the drainage and purification of wastewater into the lagoon from Ayamé’s sewer system. Paolo Ratto from Montana SpA in Milan carries out this mission.
The Pouponnière continues to maintain its high standards of care for the 53 children hosted, despite the significant increase in staff costs. Alberto Majocchi meets with regional and government health authorities in Côte d’Ivoire to redefine the terms and objectives of the Agency’s cooperation, as well as its responsibilities at the Ayamé Hospital.
The Agency is recognized by the Lombardy Region as a Volunteer Organization. The XXV Annual General Assembly of members approves important amendments to its statutes and elects new officers for the 2016-2018 term.
The horrible year of Ebola, although it spared Ivory Coast, has negative repercussions on its healthcare organization. In fact, a large portion of available resources is spent on preventing the spread of the epidemic at the expense of other health emergencies. The Ayamé Hospital is also experiencing this crisis: a noticeable decline in hospitalizations and services, with a negative impact on the management and maintenance activities of the facilities.
However, in the first months of the year, the usual medical missions promoted by the Agency take place successfully: the ophthalmology mission, the one dedicated to gynecology and laparoscopy, and finally, the dental mission formed by Dr. Umberto Marchesi, Paolo Martegani, and Maurizio Silvestri, who, in addition to providing basic care to hospital patients, assesses the conditions to develop the project (“A Smile for Ayamé”) aimed at preventing oral diseases, especially for school-aged adolescents. A technical team from the University of Pavia, coordinated by Professor Engineer Marco Morandotti, is working in Ayamé to define the structural redevelopment project of the HGA (co-financed by UBI BANCA), which includes the construction of a triage for better initial reception and assistance for the sick.
The Pouponnière is enriched with a preschool activity service.
In the rural village of Diakité Dogou, an elementary school equipped and built thanks to the generous contributions of the Agency’s members is inaugurated, with the participation of the Agency’s president Ernesto Bettinelli. The project for the installation of solar panels in Bilekrò is also defined.
The Rotary Foundation approves the project for the continuation of the sewer network renovation work in Ayamé, co-financing the purchase of a lift pump for the flow of treated wastewater into the lagoon.
The Magni Foundation further develops its programs in the fields of agriculture, education, and the environment.
The Agency mourns the passing of Dr. Ercole Brusamolino, a pioneer of healthcare cooperation with HGA, Professor Carlo Bernasconi, and Engineer Luigi Burtulla, founding members of the Agency and prominent figures in the Pavia community.
The Ministry of Health of Ivory Coast recognizes the Agency as an “associated entity for public health services” in the Agreement signed on November 13 in Abidjan. Among other things, the agreement designates the Aboisso area (where Ayamé is located) as the scope for the cooperation activities of the Pavia-based NGO. In fact, the Agency’s commitment has long been extended to the villages of the countryside-forest (brousse) around Ayamé. On May 30, the “Case de Santé” in Bilekrò, the latest healthcare facility of the “HGA Antennas” program, is officially inaugurated. This facility was built with the contribution of the Magni Foundation. Thanks to funding from Alchimia SpA, led by Marina Salamon, the dispensary is equipped with solar panels that provide the necessary electricity for its operations.
During the year, the now traditional technical and medical missions take place in Ayamé. Engineers and technicians (Flavio Dadone, Tonino Piccinni, Giampaolo Romanin, Roberto Rossella) install two autoclaves and a generator in the HGA. Then, the fourth surgical mission of ophthalmologists from San Matteo Hospital in Pavia (Paolo Bianchi, Giovanni Furiosi, Gabriella Ricciardelli, Alessio Delfino, Nadia Massara) is successfully carried out. Later, Ernesto Bettinelli, Cristina Gallotti, and Alberto Majocchi travel to Ayamé to assess the status of ongoing projects and discuss upcoming cooperation initiatives with local partners.
The Magni Foundation continues its economic development activities in the agricultural field by expanding crop cultivation. It also finances the construction of a large secondary school (managed by the Stimmatini Fathers) with a section dedicated to advanced vocational training in agriculture. The Foundation also supports the programs already launched by the Agency. The Pouponnière is further enhanced and expanded with recreational spaces and a section dedicated to older children.
On the environmental sanitation front in Ayamé, the Ano-Assué stream is cleaned to prevent dangerous flooding. The Foundation also works to raise awareness among the local population about the importance of caring for and cleaning up the environment.
On December 12, the Agency’s general assembly approves ambitious projects, including: the redevelopment of the HGA (co-financed by UBI-BANCA), a phytoremediation system for the wastewater from Ayamé’s sewer network (largely renovated by the Agency), and the flow of treated water into the lagoon via a lift pump. For this project, the Rotary Club Minerva of Pavia requests and receives significant co-financing from the Rotary Foundation.
A great loss strikes the Agency on December 30: Dr. Emilio Bertotti, at the age of 93, passes away. He was a pioneer of healthcare cooperation in Ayamé and a co-founder of the hospital. For his tremendous contributions, the Agency had appointed Bertotti as “Honorary Agent for Life” in 2000.
With the construction of the tenth dispensary in Bilekrou, in the surrounding brousse of Ayamé, the “HGA Antennas” program, launched in 2007 with the collaboration of various organizations, particularly the Monzino Foundation of Milan, comes to a close. After completing the “major works,” the Agency decides to focus its efforts on training in the healthcare and environmental fields and on supporting the maintenance of the facilities and equipment that it has made available to the Ayamé community over the past twenty years.
In this context, the “point-to-point” missions take place: one at the HGA with the ophthalmologists from Policlinico San Matteo, dedicated to cataract surgery, with the participation of the local ophthalmologist; and another by engineers and technicians (Bargigia, Piccinni, Rossella), who assess the progress of the work in the various sectors in which the Agency cooperates.
In June, the head of laboratory services at the HGA, Nathalie Matchum Fotso Nounamo, is hosted in Pavia to participate in a professional development course at Policlinico San Matteo. An important mission to Ayamé takes place with Ernesto Bettinelli, president of the Agency, and Alberto Majocchi, vice president of the Magni Foundation, to further define the relationships with the HGA, local authorities, and the Minister of Health (whom they meet in Abidjan).
To better coordinate the Agency’s medium-term healthcare cooperation efforts with the HGA, a five-year agreement is signed on December 18 by the Bishop of Grand Bassam, Mons. Raymond Auhua, the concessionaire of the hospital.
The first 10 years of the Pouponnière are celebrated in Ayamé on July 14, with a large party involving the entire local population. In August, a container is sent by the Agency to Ayamé, containing important equipment for the hospital and the healthcare facilities in the area, donated by companies and organizations not only from Pavia.
The economic development activities of the Magni Foundation in the agricultural field continue successfully in Ayamé, ensuring, among other things, food self-sufficiency for the Pouponnière.
On December 12, the Agency’s general assembly elects the social offices for the 2013-2015 term.
Ivory Coast is afflicted by civil war due to the outgoing president Laurent Gbagbo’s refusal to recognize the election of Alassane Ouattara as President of the Republic. The armed conflict continues until May, when the forces supporting the new President enter Abidjan. Thousands are killed, and many others flee in a situation of increasing misery. Political divisions gradually ease thanks to Ouattara’s moderation, significant international aid, and the arrest of Gbagbo, who is handed over to the International Criminal Court in The Hague to be tried for crimes against humanity. During this period, the Agency has to suspend its missions in Ayamé, but is still able to safeguard all of its achievements thanks to the vigilant presence of Emi Massignan, who never left the country, even during the most dramatic moments. In particular, the continuous operation of the General Hospital of Ayamé, the Pouponnière (with its 55 children), and the restructured health facilities in the surrounding brousse villages are ensured. Once the situation normalizes, the Agency resumes its active cooperation initiatives in various sectors:
Staff Training: Dr. Djomoh Thierry Angban (an ophthalmologist at the HGA) completes his cataract surgery training by attending a specialized course (fully funded by the Agency) at a center in Accra, Ghana.
Technological Development of HGA: Construction work begins for the second operating block, designed by the Engineers’ Association of the Province of Pavia. The facility, mostly funded by the Agency, will be completed by the first half of 2012. The new operating room, equipped with an autoclave and an uninterruptible power supply, is primarily intended for outpatient and ophthalmological procedures.
“Antenne dell’HGA” Project: Construction work begins at Ebikro N’Dakro for the renovation of the eighth healthcare facility in the brousse.
Environmental Sanitation of Ayamé: A team of five maintenance workers, trained in previous years, is hired by the Municipality of Ayamé. The Agency ensures part of their salary, allowing for continuous maintenance of Ayamé’s sewer system.
Microcredit for Marginalized Women: The Agency finances the purchase of equipment for the operation of a food warehouse (granted by the municipality of Ayamé) managed by a women’s cooperative, enabling them to engage in commercial activity.
Missions in Ayamé: To coordinate the activities mentioned above, missions are carried out in Ayamé, attended by Giuseppe Bargigia and Filippo Dacarro (from the “engineers’ group”) and Alessio Delfino (from the “Committee of Doctors for Ayamé”). Also significant is the three-month stay at the HGA of Peni Nissani, a medical student from the University of Pavia, who won a scholarship (funded by Cariplo) for a research internship on the pathogenesis of anemia in the Ayamé area.
The Government of Ivory Coast officially recognizes the association “Punto a Punto” based in Ayamé and presided over locally by Emi Massignan. This is an important recognition of the Agency’s two-decade-long active presence in Ayamé and an opportunity to make cooperation projects more shared and effective. The Magni Foundation continues to thrive with the acquisition of new agricultural land. The Agency changes its operational headquarters and moves to Piazza Petrarca 4, in the historic “Annunziata complex,” in a space generously provided rent-free by the Province of Pavia.
Thanks to the significant co-financing from the Italo Monzino Foundation in Milan, the “Antenne dell’HGA” project undergoes decisive development. After the opening of the Bianouan hospital in June by the President of the Agency Ernesto Bettinelli, Alberto Majocchi, and Cristina Gallotti, the dispensaries of Songan, Apouasso, Yaou, and Kétesso are renovated. Construction work also begins on the dispensaries in Diby, Ebikro, and Koukourandoumi.
Such a result is the outcome of the technical and project commitment of the “engineers’ group” of the Pavia Engineers’ Association, with the on-site supervision of young engineer Antonio Limanni and the scientific oversight of Dr. Ercole Brusamolino. In September, the Minister of Health of Ivory Coast, Aka Eugène Aouélé, visits the renovated facilities and expresses his country’s gratitude for the Agency’s cooperation efforts.
Within the framework of the “point-to-point” medical missions between Pavia and Ayamé, in January, the team of ophthalmologists from Policlinico San Matteo, led by Prof. Bianchi (and consisting of Alessio Delfino, Giovanni Furiosi, Marinella Migliavacca, and Alessandro Borloni), travels to the HGA to carry out surgical interventions. The collaboration in the ophthalmic field continues with a professional development internship for Dr. Djomoh Thierry Angban (HGA) at the ophthalmology clinic of San Matteo.
Other important specialist missions for training and technical assistance for the medical and nursing staff of the HGA take place throughout the year in the fields of obstetrics, pediatrics, and neonatology (Prof. Laura Montanari, assisted by Morena Arturi from the ASL of Cuneo; Alessandra Rossi Ricci, a medical student and Cariplo scholarship recipient, assisting the local pediatrician Dr. Annie Diokouri).
In the environmental sanitation sector, notable activities include the maintenance of the sewer system (constructed by the Agency in previous years), entrusted to appropriately trained local teams, and a mission by engineer Alessandro Bracci to assess the feasibility of a program for the collection and treatment of urban solid waste in the entire Aboisso area.
The Pouponnière in Ayamé is at full capacity: in December, it is home to 55 children. The economic development goals in the agricultural sector are at the center of the initiatives of the “Magni Foundation for Ayamé,” which has acquired new land intended for the cultivation of both profitable medium-term crops (such as rubber and oil palm) that can increase employment, and products for local consumption to promote a balanced diet for the local population.
A project is defined for the construction of a model farm that will also serve as a vocational training center and as accommodation for volunteers on mission in Ayamé.
The Agency receives the “Pavesi nel Mondo” award from the Chamber of Commerce of Pavia: the recognition crowns an intense and active cooperation effort. The ophthalmologists from Policlinico San Matteo in Pavia, coordinated by Prof. Paolo E. Bianchi, travel to Ayamé for the first ophthalmological mission, performing cataract surgeries on over 100 patients. The S. Maugeri Foundation of Pavia contributes by donating valuable medical equipment.
As part of the healthcare cooperation and the “point-to-point” exchanges, professional development internships begin at Policlinico San Matteo for Dr. Djonne Annie Diokuri (pediatrician) and radiology technician Inza Coulibaly.
In October, Dr. Alba Muzzi and Eleonora Scorletti (specializing in hygiene and preventive medicine, supported by two CARIPLO-CICOPS work-study scholarships) and Federico Gatto (a Pharmacy student) reach Ayamé. The purpose of their mission is to assess the organization and functionality of the services at Ayamé Hospital and the STOP-SIDA campaign. During their stay, they collect the necessary data for a new project, “The Fruits of the Land,” aimed at promoting healthy eating in Ayamé and the surrounding villages.
In the social field, the Pouponnière is now operating at full capacity with 53 children hosted. An important agreement with the Community of Sant’Egidio in Rome helps facilitate the procedures for the international adoption of children who cannot be reintegrated into their original family communities.
The employment of women in difficult situations expands with broader access to microcredit at minimal and decreasing interest rates, which are further reduced during a visit to Ayamé by Ernesto Bettinelli, Alberto Majocchi, and Cristina Gallotti. In March, Patrizia Cogliati is able to assess the Agency’s on-site interventions from a managerial and financial perspective.
The commitment of the Agency’s engineers and technicians is also significant. Giuseppe Bargigia, Filippo Dacarro, Marco Majocchi, Franco Dell’Antonia, Roberto Rossella, and Antonio Limanni are responsible for the works to reorganize the sewer system, alongside Francesco Vinco, who has been competently managing a challenging construction site for two years. In the framework of the “Antenne dell’HGA” project, the renovation and expansion of the Bianouan hospital are completed, benefiting from co-financing from Rotary Cremona.
To support and develop the Ayamé hospital and other projects, the Agency sends two containers filled with valuable materials (medical, technological, and construction-related).
Finally, a “big” new development: a prominent entrepreneur from Vigevano establishes the “Magni Foundation,” which aims to achieve economic development and educational excellence in the same area, in close alignment with the Agency’s mission.
The Agency’s Assembly (December 17) elects the social offices for the 2010-2012 term.
It is the year of the “point-to-point” missions. As many as 19 volunteers from the Agency stay in Ayamé at various times throughout the year, participating in the different healthcare, social assistance, and environmental cooperation projects that have been ongoing in the Ivorian community for some time.
Two surgeons from HGA (Dr. Bledou Lambert Anoh and Dr. Doua Aime Kouakou) take part in professional development internships at IRCCS San Matteo in Pavia, under the guidance of Prof. Paolo Dionigi. They are hosted by the EDISU university colleges and supported by other local institutions.
The renewal (in July) of the agreement between San Matteo in Pavia and HGA strengthens and makes the ties between the two hospitals more effective, precisely in the year that marks the 15th anniversary of the inclusion of Ayamé Hospital into the healthcare system of Ivory Coast.
On May 7, the small dispensary (“Case de Santé”) in Diakité Dougou, deep in the brousse near the Ghana border, is inaugurated. The facility, equipped with photovoltaic solar panels, is the first rural medical outpost that should address the most urgent healthcare needs of the local population (assessed in October by two volunteers sent by the Agency).
At the end of the year, work begins (co-financed by the Rotary Club of Cremona) on the complete renovation and expansion of the Bianouan healthcare facility. This initiative is also part of the “Antenne dell’HGA” program, which aims to create a network of first-response health centers, coordinated by Ayamé Hospital.
The new Pouponnière is running at full capacity with 50 children. The Agency’s presidency meets with UNICEF officials to obtain their important international patronage as soon as possible. Other activities related to the AIDS campaign (STOP-SIDA) and the environmental sanitation of Ayamé’s sewer network continue to develop.
Finally, the “Microcredit Project” (with the support of the Pavia Chamber of Labor) is launched to create job opportunities and social reintegration for marginalized women, either due to health reasons or because they lack family support.
On February 17, the new Pouponnière in Ayamé is inaugurated, hosting 44 children up to three years old. Young volunteers from the Agency form a dedicated Committee to promote the “participatory support” of the children in the nursery.
Numerous technical and scientific missions take place in Ayamé to continue ongoing projects: Dr. Chiara Bodini and Serena Venturelli (from the Specialization School in Infectious Diseases) oversee the STOP-SIDA Program; engineers from the Pavia Engineers’ Association (Giuseppe Bargigia and Marco Majocchi) and Roberto Rossella assess the status of the environmental remediation plan and sign an agreement with the Municipality of Ayamé for its involvement in the sewer system rehabilitation work. In April, Engineer Yao Sabenin (technical coordinator of the PRA) visits Pavia to finalize the development of the works. Also important is the visit to Ayamé Hospital by Prof. Paolo Dionigi, who sets up a professional development program for local surgeons at Policlinico San Matteo in Pavia. Prof. Dionigi also coordinates a group of doctors from San Matteo interested in cooperating with the Ivorian hospital.
A series of photovoltaic solar panels (donated by EGEA SPA of Alba) are sent to Ivory Coast, destined for Diakité Dogou, where they will be installed to provide the newly built dispensary (designed by Pavia engineers) with enough electricity to power two refrigerators for storing medicines and vaccines. Diakité Dogou is one of the brousse villages included in a newly launched project: “Le Antenne dell’HGA.” This project aims to establish small decentralized health outposts, essential in the fight against AIDS, and capable of providing rural populations with immediate medical care, thus avoiding the need for patients to travel to the Ayamé hospital. Four students from the University of Pavia graduate, presenting theses on various aspects of cooperation with Ayamé.
The National Academy of Sciences (Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei) awards the prestigious “Antonio Feltrinelli” Prize to the Agency for “an extraordinary undertaking of high moral and humanitarian value.”
The funds received allow the acceleration of the construction of the new Pouponnière, which is completed in December. The Mayor of Pavia, Piera Capitelli, accompanied by a delegation from the Agency, makes an official visit to Ayamé and confirms the cooperation commitments between the two municipalities, which were signed in 1997 as part of a constructive twinning agreement. Throughout the year, many technical missions take place to advance the ongoing projects.
The work stays of young students from the University of Pavia become increasingly frequent, also contributing to the development of graduation theses on the development of Ayamé. The UNDP (United Nations Development Programme) expresses, for the second time, a positive evaluation of the ongoing Stop-Sida program at the General Hospital of Ayamé (HGA). The works to regulate the Ano-Assué river are completed.
Within the framework of the environmental remediation project for Ayamé, field surveys continue, and a plan for the gradual rehabilitation of the municipal sewer system is defined under the guidance of Prof. Jannelli from the University of Pavia. The Agency’s Annual Assembly renews the social offices for the 2007-2009 term.
The STOP-SIDA project receives co-funding from the Cariplo Foundation in Milan and enters its full operational phase: expensive laboratory equipment essential for rapid diagnoses is acquired; and the entire hospital staff undergoes training and updates. Since March, the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of the virus has seen extraordinary participation from the women visiting the hospital, with 95% of them agreeing to undergo testing. Since July, powdered milk has been distributed free of charge to seropositive mothers.
Starting in September, a mobile team consisting of healthcare staff and a cultural mediator visits villages and camps around Ayamé to introduce the STOP-SIDA program and invite women to undergo free checkups at the hospital. In October, a delegation from the UNDP (United Nations Development Programme), which coordinates AIDS interventions in Ivory Coast, positively evaluates the activities carried out by the hospital. As a result, the hospital is also included in the program for the therapy of HIV-positive adults (PEC).
To immediately implement the environmental remediation project, an Italy-Ivorian working committee is formed, coordinated locally by Engineer Yao Sabenin, who establishes the intervention plan. In March, work begins (co-financed by the Monte dei Paschi di Lombardia Foundation) to fully rehabilitate the Ano-Assué river. At the end of September, a mission of engineers from Pavia (Bracci and Luinetti) conducts the first surveys for the rehabilitation of Ayamé’s sewer system.
The Pavia Provincial Water Research Center (ASM) joins the PRA (Environmental Remediation Project) and signs a specific agreement with the Agency. The research center, led by Prof. Giovanni Iannelli, takes on the scientific coordination of the project. The initiative for the new Pouponnière, capable of hosting at least 40 children, also takes off. The Pavia Engineers’ Association develops the project, and the Agency decides to co-finance the project, which also involves the NGO A.B.C.S. of Verona and other organizations. The construction site is already opened in October.
The Agency signs an agreement with the Department of Culture of the Municipality of Pavia for the concession of the new Agency headquarters at the Broletto. The “Committee of Mayors of Small Municipalities for Ayamé” is renewed.
Thanks to the contribution from the Monte dei Paschi di Lombardia Foundation, a new laboratory for analysis is established at the Hospital of Ayamé. The Government of Ivory Coast grants the free customs clearance of technical equipment and medicines sent to the hospital. Major strategic cooperation projects in the fields of healthcare and environmental management are defined with the competent Ivorian authorities.
The STOP-SIDA initiative aims to address the AIDS emergency in the Ayamé area. To facilitate diagnostic testing for women and measures for the prevention of neonatal seropositivity, the Agency provides all pregnant women in Ayamé with a voucher (“bon d’achat”) for free access to childbirth at the hospital. A visit in February to the Policlinico San Matteo by the Minister of Health of Ivory Coast, Dr. Albert Mabri Toikeusse, seals this agreement. The “Ravasi” Foundation in Milan provides a contribution of 45,000 euros, which allows the immediate start of the preparatory phases of the plan.
The environmental remediation project (PRA) in the Ayamé basin includes three priority and preliminary interventions: the cleanup of the Ano-Assué river that runs through Ayamé, the establishment of an adequate waste disposal system, and the renovation of the city’s sewerage system, which has long been out of use.
Vcaba Sylla, head nurse of the Pediatrics Department at the Hospital of Ayamé, is hosted in Pavia (in June) to participate in a professional updating stage at the Neonatology Department of the Policlinico San Matteo.
On April 18, the “Committee of Mayors of Small Municipalities” of the Province of Pavia is established at the municipality of Travacò Siccomario. This committee commits to annually supporting the Agency’s initiatives and promoting awareness-raising events in the territory in favor of cooperation with poor countries, particularly with Ayamé. The Committee formally joins the Agency, appointing its own representative to the Coordination Committee.
In collaboration with CICOPS from the University of Pavia and the Community of Sant’Egidio in Rome, the Agency organizes (on May 30-31) a conference at Collegio Ghislieri titled “The Role of Cooperation in Poor Countries in Political Crisis: The Case of Ivory Coast.” The meeting, attended by Clotilde Ohouochi, Minister of Social Solidarity of Ivory Coast, Richard Zady, Ivorian Ambassador to Italy, Giuseppe Deodato, Director General of Cooperation, and Paolo Sannella, Italian Ambassador to Ivory Coast, represents an important reflection on the pacification of Ivory Coast, which was severely affected by a bloody internal conflict that remains unresolved.
The collaboration begins with the ophthalmologists of the Chirone Association of Messina, who have long been effectively treating the typical diseases of the region, such as cataracts and glaucoma. Caroline N’Zue, a laboratory technician at the Hospital of Ayamé, is hosted in Pavia for a professional updating stage at the Policlinico San Matteo.
The City Council of Pavia allocates a space for the Agency at the Broletto, the most important historic building in the city.
On March 29, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs recognizes the Agency as a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) for the following types of activities: “implementation of short- and medium-term programs in developing countries” and “selection, training, and employment of volunteers in civil service.” Dr. Christophe Saraka, head of the Pediatric Department at the Hospital of Ayamé, is hosted by the Giasone del Maino College at the University of Pavia for a training stage at the Pediatric Clinic of San Matteo.
During the same period, thanks to the “Amici di Ciceri” Association, another Ivorian, Dominique Sankara, an electrician at the Hospital of Ayamé, is able to attend a training stay in Pavia at local companies to learn maintenance techniques for the equipment donated to the Hospital of Ayamé.
In the following year, once again with the support of the University of Pavia and other local institutions, Caroline N’Zue, working at the laboratory of the Hospital of Ayamé, comes to Pavia for a training stage in clinical analysis at San Matteo.
The Order of Engineers of Pavia formally joins the Agency, appointing one of its representatives to the Coordination Committee and establishing a working group within the Order itself. The group’s aim is to develop projects for the modernization and technological development of the Hospital and to organize technical missions to Ayamé to ensure the successful implementation of these projects.
Thanks to the contribution of the Municipality of Pavia, the “House of Twinning” is established, intended to host missions of doctors and technicians (not only from Pavia) who travel to Ayamé for work stays.
The Municipality of Pavia commits to co-financing the annual routine and extraordinary maintenance and upkeep of the structure.
The University of Pavia defines and approves the project for the trial of a “Telemedicine Consultation” service, via satellite and using IT procedures, between the Hôpital Général d’Ayamé and the Policlinico San Matteo. The initiative is supported by Telecom Italia and the Consortium of Bioengineering and Medical Informatics of Pavia. The first operational connection between the Ayamé Hospital and the Pediatric Clinic of San Matteo took place on June 8, 2000: Elleu Kelly is the name of the child who benefited from the first teleconsultation.
The Agency is established as a “Non-Profit Organization for Social Utility” (ONLUS) through a public deed. On May 17, the Municipality of Pavia celebrates in a solemn open session of the City Council, in the presence of the Undersecretary for Cooperation Senator Rino Serri and a large Ivorian delegation, the “Constructive Twinning” with the Municipality of Ayamé, signed by the mayors of the two cities. The event represents a further consistent step toward a new method of “decentralized” and permanent cooperation that inspired the founding of the Agency.
The first agreement is signed between the Policlinico San Matteo and the Hôpital Général d’Ayamé with the aim of facilitating missions of Pavia-based doctors to the hospital, and, in the future, welcoming Ivorian healthcare personnel to Pavia at the facilities of the Policlinico for targeted professional development stays.
Doctors and professors from the Policlinico, affiliated with the Agency (Mario Cazzola, Ercole Brusamolino, and Carlo Monteforte), join Emilio Bertotti in missions to Ayamé. Thanks, especially, to the initiative of Mauro Stronati, young pediatric residents will later carry out rotating training stages at the Ivorian hospital, benefiting from special scholarships granted by the Medical Association of the Province of Pavia.
On October 11, the hospital in Ayamé is inaugurated, now equipped with a surgery department and a laboratory for medical analyses, made possible by the Agency’s contribution. The hospital becomes part of the healthcare system of Ivory Coast as the Hôpital Général.
Emilio Bertotti, the operational agent, carries out a mission lasting over a month in Ayamé to start the construction of a laboratory for medical analysis, funded by the Agency, at the Hôpital d’Ayamé. The structure is completed in September and equipped with materials and supplies sent from Italy via a dedicated container.
50 citizens from Pavia establish the Agency No. 1 of Pavia for Ayamé and approve a declaration of intent for the “adoption” of Ayamé: the “Carta del Ghislieri” (named after the prestigious Ghislieri College, where the first meeting of the group takes place).
Suor Alba Cano begins her mission in the village of Ayamé and, with the support of other Italians, transforms a medicine dispensary into a small healthcare center focused mainly on maternity and childcare. From the very beginning, Dr. Emilio Bertotti collaborates closely with her, managing to involve friends, especially from Pavia, in fundraising efforts and in organizing work stays in Ayamé.
