Italy has launched a project for Filipino children suffering from tuberculosis (TB), the sixth leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the country.
Philippine Ambassador to Italy Philippe Lhuillier was the guest of honor and speaker at the launching recently of the L’Otto Per Amore (The Fight for Love), a joint project of the Fondazione Raphael Onlus and the Guardia di Finanzia, the military corps of the Italian finance ministry.
The Italian government’s project aims to extend medical assistance to around 1,500 children with tuberculosis living in Payatas, Quezon City.
The Philippines has the ninth highest rate of TB infection in the world.
Lhuillier expressed his appreciation to the organizers for doing their share to address the problem and said the fight against TB has been on top of the agenda of both public and private sectors in the Philippines.
General Emilio Antonio Jacoboni represented the Guardia di Finanzia while Rev. Giovanni d’Ercole represented the Fondazione Raphael Onlus.
To raise the needed funds, a variety program featuring noted Italian singers and performers was held at the Auditorium Massimo in Rome on May 8, when the project was launched. Organizers also launched a “donate through text” drive. – Pia Lee-Brago