University, Bridge-Uganda is born, Milan Bicocca outpost for global health

Offering students and postgraduates internship opportunities and a unique training experience. With these objectives, Bridge (Bicocca Research and Innovation for Development and Global hEalth)-Uganda was born, the outpost of the University of Milan-Bicocca at the Lacor Hospital, in Uganda. The international cooperation model, lasting 5 years, was presented this morning in Milan during the event ‘Global Health: the role of the academy’, and is part of the ‘Bicocca Global Health Center’ project that involves all the professionals of the university in the development of innovative and sustainable solutions to address global health challenges through a multidisciplinary approach, promote health and well-being in low- and middle-income countries and shape, also thanks to the involvement of other disciplinary sectors of the university, the next generation of well-rounded health professionals.

Lacor Hospital, located in the Gulu district in northern Uganda – as stated in a note – is one of the largest non-profit health centers in equatorial Africa. Supported in Italy by the Corti Foundation, it plays a fundamental role for the region: it provides medical care to approximately 200 thousand people per year, with over 30 thousand hospitalizations, and is a fundamental training center in various health disciplines, an internship location for local and international universities. The headquarters of Bridge-Uganda is in the building of the Combonian missionary nuns, one of the original historic structures of the hospital, which will be renovated to offer teachers, researchers and students an equipped space for the study and scientific research activities envisaged in the five-year agreement signed by the two institutions. This is the second outpost abroad of the Milanese university, after the MaRhe Center in the Maldives archipelago, the research and training center dedicated to marine biology studies.

“We are proud to start this cooperation with Lacor Hospital – declared Giovanna Iannantuoni, Rector of the University of Milano-Bicocca – in a project aimed at training the next generation of healthcare professionals. A key aspect of this partnership is the ‘2 Pillars Project’, which provides internships for students and specialists of the university, offering them the opportunity to gain experience and immerse themselves in a complex clinical context, developing practical skills and essential human qualities. The two pillars represent our objectives of professional training (one pillar) and human training (second pillar), the latter being especially essential for healthcare professionals. The main objective of the agreement is to fully understand local healthcare needs, identify areas in which to provide support and lay the foundations for joint initiatives aimed at enhancing training and research”.

The scientific director of Lacor Hospital, Emmanuel Ochola, “very excited” for the birth of the “new outpost of the University of Milano-Bicocca”, recalled that “to continue to serve a very poor population afflicted by numerous diseases, Lacor fights daily to make costs accessible and succeeds also thanks to the partners who support us. In this challenge we must optimize services by choosing effective and evidence-based interventions. The collaboration with Milano-Bicocca will be centered on the patient, both in the hospital and in the territory, and we hope it can help us provide better services and quality training, in line with our mission”.

Dominique Corti, President of Fondazione Corti, adds: “The collaboration with Milano-Bicocca is born from mutual esteem and respect for the identity of Lacor and the needs of the population it serves. Whether it is training, research, or capital development, every step taken together responds to the ‘local ownership’ of priorities. A way of operating today recognized as essential for local development and that Fondazione Corti has been carrying forward for over thirty years. 65 years after its birth – he emphasizes – Lacor fights daily to provide quality healthcare to patients who cannot afford the cost of treatment. And this is possible above all thanks to the contribution of donors from high-income countries who recognize the importance of supporting an active and effective reality like Lacor”.

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For the past 2 years, the hospital has been an internship site for some students in their fifth and sixth year of Medicine, third year of Nursing and Midwifery, and for the specialists from Milano-Bicocca. From now on, it is expected that around 30 interns will be involved each year. The creation of Bridge-Uganda will offer a coordination center for all the university’s activities on site and in other Ugandan hospitals or in neighboring countries, spaces and Internet stations for users. Research initiatives will be carried out there, some of which are already underway in the fields of pediatrics and gynecology, pathological anatomy and infectious diseases. Not only will different clinical areas be involved, but also other scientific fields of the university, such as economics, psychology and computer science.