Medicus Mundi Italy: Di Stefano new president

On May 29th the members of Medicus Mundi Italia (MMI) met for the approval of the 2023 Social Report and for the renewal of the Board of Directors which subsequently elected the new President of the Association.

Ottavio Di Stefano, doctor and current president of the Order of Surgeons and Dentists of the Province of Brescia, takes over from Prof. Giampiero Carosi, who presided over the Brescia Association for 12 years. The Dr. Silvio Caligaris is reconfirmed in the role of Vice President, as are the Councilors Carlo Cerini, Fabiana Arieti, Fabian Schumacher, Angelo Gallizioli, Lina Tomasoni.

“The pandemic has highlighted how vulnerable and interconnected we all are and taught us that the last are the first, the first to be affected when crises arise. Those living in vulnerable situations do not have access to basic health services. I have spent my entire professional life in the Spedali Civili of Brescia. Great doctors taught me the trade. And in my experience as a doctor I have always worked and believed in a public health system that cultivates the culture of the least. The decision to accept the position of President of Medicus Mundi Italia for the next four years arises from the belief that it is by taking care of the least fortunate, in every place in the world, guaranteeing them access to basic services, that we can guarantee access to health for all people” is the first statement of the new President

As Prof. Carosi, outgoing president, underlines: “In the various theaters of our intervention in Africa, Burundi, Burkina Faso, Kenya and Mozambique, in line with our mission, we have completed and started new projects, creating synergies and collaborations with various other organizations in Italy and foreign countries. We dealt with community health, with priority given to mothers and children; to fight infectious diseases, in particular HIV, tuberculosis and malaria; to combat acute and chronic childhood malnutrition; to promote access to drinking water and sanitation services; of gender equality. All this while always giving priority to the training of social-health workers and local community agents.”

The Members’ Assembly unanimously approved the 2023 Social Report to give a transparent account of the work that the association carries out in Africa, Latin America and Italy. A year of work was presented through stories, numbers, data and graphs relating to the projects carried out, and the presentation of a certified economic balance sheet.