In a village in Italy, the mayor recently issued an announcement stating that the villagers are prohibited from contracting serious illnesses that would require emergency care. This move is a humorous way to highlight the lack of medical facilities in the village, which authorities should take notice of.
Belcastro, located in the Calabria region of southern Italy, is one of the poorest villages in the country. The mayor of the village, Antonio Torchia, issued a decree urging villagers not to contract potentially serious illnesses that may require urgent treatment, and to avoid activities that could lead to serious injuries. Instead, they are advised to spend most of their time resting.
Torchia stated that this measure is “clearly a kind of humorous provocation,” but its impact is more effective in highlighting the lack of the local healthcare system than if he had issued an emergency notice to the authorities.
The village has a population of only about 1,200 people, half of whom are elderly over 65. The nearest hospital emergency room is located 45 kilometers away, with a single road leading there, limited to a speed of 30 kilometers per hour.
The on-call clinic in the village is only open occasionally, and does not provide medical services on weekends, holidays, or after hours.
Torchia told Italian television that when you know you need help and your only hope is to arrive on time (at the emergency room), it is hard to feel safe and the road is almost “more dangerous than any disease.”
Residents of Belcastro told local media that Torchia “did the right thing in exposing this problem” and that this decision will “shock the conscience.”
A male resident said, “He used a provocative decree to draw attention to a serious issue.”
Calabria has a sparse population of just under 2 million people and is one of the poorest regions in Italy.
Poor governance and interference from the mafia have destroyed the healthcare system in the region, leading the central government to take over its management approximately 15 years ago. However, the region still severely lacks medical personnel and beds due to the inability to address massive debts.
Since 2009, 18 hospitals in Calabria have closed, forcing local residents to seek medical assistance elsewhere.
In 2022, Cuba announced that it would send 497 of its doctors to various medical facilities in the Calabria region within 3 years. Roberto Occhiuto, the regional governor of Calabria, stated last year that these doctors “saved” the region’s hospitals.
Occhiuto told Cuban media, “All regions in Italy are trying their best to recruit doctors, but they just can’t find them. This problem is much more severe in Calabria.”