Health cooperation in Africa: the new projects of the University of Milan

From Mozambique to Kenya, the University of Milan is stepping up its health cooperation efforts with NGOs operating in Africa and other local institutions, with professors playing an active role in his regard.

This commitment reflects, for example, in the newly established collaboration with the Catholic University of Mozambique (UCM). Stefania Recalcati, Rector's Delegate for international health cooperation and team member of the Centre for MultidisciplinAry ResearCh in Health Science (MACH), and Massimo Lonati, Head of the department of Medical Biotechnology and Translational Medicine, recently travelled to Mozambique on an institutional trip to UCM, with which the University of Milan has a three-year Erasmus mobility project in place. This mobility scheme, which was made possible also thanks to the support of the NGO Doctors with Africa CUAMM, aims most of all to promote the mobility of teaching staff between the two universities.

"The UCM Faculty of Health Sciences has 20 years of experience in medical education and 12 years of experience in nursing education; mobility is a great opportunity to improve collaboration between our universities and support the exchange of expertise, as regards both preclinical and clinical medicine", said Stefania Recalcati.

At UCM, Stefania Recalcati and Massimo Lonati held a series of classes for medical students enrolled in their first years of studies. Furthermore, Gabriella Cerri, professor of Physiology and Rector's Delegate for innovation in medical teaching at the University of Milan, held some lectures online, with the support of UCM professors in the class.

"The overall experience was very positive, students were truly enthusiastic about this opportunity", remarked Professor Recalcati. "Besides teaching, we had several meetings with UCM representatives to establish a long-term collaboration, which is fundamental to achieve concrete results. Together with a UCM medical student, we also planted a plant next to a UCM building under construction, to symbolise the beginning of our collaboration, which we hope will grow in the future along with the plant."

As part of the mobility scheme, the University of Milan will provide African doctors with training in healthcare management, while UCM instructors will hold a series of lectures and seminars for students of postgraduate schools and vocational masters of the University of Milan, particularly on infectious diseases, a domain in which they have extensive experience and expertise. One of the main goals for the future is to boost collaboration between the teaching staff of the two universities, with a view to improving teaching in educational areas where there is an expertise shortage.