Italian charity founder and surgeon Gino Strada dies
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Dr Gino Strada was an anti-war activist who founded the medical charity Emergency, which helps civilian victims and provides healthcare in conflict zones around the world.
ROME • Dr Gino Strada, the founder of one of Italy's most prominent charities and builder of hospitals in war-torn countries, has died aged 73, said his medical charity Emergency.
A surgeon and anti-war activist, Dr Strada founded Emergency in 1994 to help civilian victims, providing healthcare in conflict zones around the world. Since its first project in Rwanda in 1994, Emergency has treated about 11 million patients, working in 19 countries to set up healthcare facilities, says the group's website.
Dr Strada recently suffered from heart problems, Italian media reported. A well-known public figure in Italy, he was sometimes touted as a possible minister, but his anti-war and anti-racism ideas made him political enemies and precluded him from office.
Prime Minister Mario Draghi said: "He spent his life on the side of the weakest, working with professionalism, courage and humanity in the most difficult parts of the world."
A critic of most Italian governments over their immigration and defence policies, Dr Strada opposed Rome's military involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan and was a symbol of the country's pacifist movements.
He also decried Italian health policy, which he said favoured private clinics at the expense of quality public facilities for everyone.
REUTERS
