Italia-Albania: prevention goes on board the Health Ship

One Health Foundation's 'Health Ship' departs from the port of Ancona today. For the third year in a row, free medical examinations and check-ups will be carried out for two days on board in ten clinics, thanks to 17 specialists from different disciplines. The ship will arrive in the port of Durres in the evening and depart the following day. The aim is to promote all-round health and wellbeing but above all the secondary prevention of important diseases. These include cancers, which every year register 390,000 new cases in Italy, while another 8,000 are diagnosed in Albania.

Prevention also 'gets on board' to promote lifestyles, a need that unites the two countries. In fact, one adult in five in both Italia and Albania smokes regularly. On the other hand, 9% and 5% of the male population drink excessive amounts of alcohol respectively. While, in both countries, one in ten people is in serious excess weight. In the two previous editions, a total of more than 770 medical services have already been provided to passengers. This year, breast and genetic consultations, dermatological, ophthalmological, neurosurgical and cardio-vascular examinations are planned. It is also possible to carry out nutritional check-ups, ultrasound scans of the abdomen and carotid artery ultrasounds, and tests for HIV, HCV, HBV and syphilis. The initiative promoted by One Health Foundation is being presented to the press today on the ship docked in the Marche capital. And tomorrow in Durres, on board the ship, there will be an official meeting of the delegation of professionals with Evis Sala (Minister of Health of the Republic of Albania). This will be followed by a meeting in Tirana with Xheladin Draçini (Rector of the University of Medicine of Tirana) to launch collaboration projects, already in the pipeline, and develop others to the benefit of the entire population. A Memorandum of Understanding will be signed between the Università Politecnica delle Marche, led by Rector Enrico Quagliarini, and the University of Medicine of Tirana, which will help promote shared projects and strengthen cooperation between the two universities.

"The great success of the previous editions encourages us to further strengthen our commitment to the promotion of an innovative project, capable of providing a concrete response to the health needs of citizens," says Rossana Berardi, president of One Health Foundation and president-elect of Aiom/Associazione Italiana di Oncologia Medica. "This year, we will also have the honour of expanding our collaboration with the Albanian Ministry of Health and the University of Tirana, consolidating an international network increasingly oriented towards prevention and public health protection. Primary and secondary prevention is a fundamental tool: by intervening on modifiable risk factors, up to 40% of all cancer cases can be avoided. Similarly, regular physical activity can reduce mortality from cardiovascular diseases by 20-30%. High-impact diseases, such as metabolic, eye and skin diseases, are also closely related to lifestyles. However, they can be prevented or diagnosed early thanks to simple medical check-ups'.

"The Ship of Health is intended to be a bridge between two countries that have always been neighbours, not only for geographical reasons," emphasises Anila Bitri Lani, Ambassador of the Republic of Albania to Italia. "It is an excellent initiative designed first and foremost for travellers, who can thus benefit from medical services. And not only for travellers! The Ship of Health also wants to build new interconnections between medical professionals and citizens living on both sides of the Adriatic. The twinning that has been created between Ancona and Tirana is thus strengthened in the interest of both our communities and is offered as a model that can be expanded and extended on the Adriatic and Ionian seas, parts of the Mediterranean".

"In the coming months, we will be launching new One Health projects in Italia and Albania based on an approach that combines the health of people, animals and environmental protection," emphasises Mauro Boldrini, Vice President of the One Health Foundation and Aiom Communications Director. These are three factors that increasingly interact with each other, as scientific research has clearly demonstrated. We are strengthening a fruitful relationship that began three years ago and which focuses on combating serious diseases, also thanks to the contribution of new collaborations. Among the clinics set up on board is that of oncological genetics. The more in-depth study of genes has enabled us, in recent years, to identify those that lead to a greater predisposition to certain cancers. One in ten cases of cancer is linked to hereditary factors, so genetic tests play a key preventive role for some people'.