Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Bangkok (Agenzia Fides) – The Italian healthcare services will be supporting pediatric care services in Thailand, through its support for the Camillian-run institutions for handicapped and HIV-positive children. This is what was made public in the First Italian-Thai Pediatrics Congress, sponsored by the Italian Society for Pediatrics and the University of Medicine of Bangkok, recently held in the Thai capital.
The Congress was originally scheduled to take place November 29 to December 1 of last year, however it was postponed for the demonstrations that led to the closing of the Bangkok Airport.
In the opening session, the Ambassador of Italy in Bangkok, Ignazio Di Pace, and the delegate of the Apostolic Nuncio, addressed the 45 doctors taking part in the event, with encouragement and appreciation. The religious and academic authorities present recalled the important work carried out by the Catholic Church's institutions in offering physical and spiritual assistance to children, especially orphans, the handicapped, and HIV-positive.
Fr. Renato Attrezzi, local coordinator of the Congress, was a living testimony of how much the Camillian religious do for the most defenseless children of Thailand. Under the leadership of the Congress President Francesco Tancredi, and Dr. Maria Grazia Sapia, Scientific Director of the Congress, various speakers shared their medical experiences in an effort to improve pediatric care worldwide, especially in Thailand. Among the topics presented were: “Screening Newborns”; “Care for Healthy and Sick Newborns”; “Breastfeeding and nutrition in the first year of life.”
The participants visited the Sirijai Hospital at Mahidol University in Bangkok and the Camillian Social Center for HIV-AIDS patients (children and adults), directed by Camillian Father Giovanni Contarin. The visit was very fruitful on both medical and human levels. (RA/PA) (Agenzia Fides 7/4/2009)
