It was the first months of 1997 and we had recently returned: some from Tanzania, some from Uganda or other East African countries. We had lived a long period of being nurses or doctors without sophisticated tools, without drugs, in comparison with many, many sick people who would have needed very little to heal. The return to the Italian wards had been traumatic. We could not close our eyes to the abysmal differences in care and care. We decided that we should instill solidarity with those close to us, in Como, with children, with young people, with all those who did not know about the misery of African hospital wards.

Thus it was that Medici con l'Africa - Como onlus was born , following the most important Italian health NGO,  in Padua, Doctors with the Africa CUAMM  - link -   at that time better known only as CUAMM.​