Agenzia Fides report – On the occasion of the World Day for the Sick, celebrated throughout the world on 11 February, the Diocese of Bissau sent Fides some information on its work in Cumura hospital, where 2,000 people affected with various illnesses, many HIV-positive, are being treated. According to the director of the hospital, Father Victor Farinha Henriques, OFM, “every day new people come to the hospital, some with the disease at an advanced stage, with no hope of survival. We can only offer them our moral support,” says Fr Farinha. The doctor points out that all the work that is done currently in this area “is very little”. Sister Valéria Amado, Franciscan Missionary of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, working for over 10 years in Cumura hospital with HIV and tuberculosis patients is of the same opinion as Fr Farinha. The hospital is run by the Friars Minor in Guinea Bissau, and it is a place which welcomes patients with HIV-AIDS and Tuberculosis. The hospital was opened in 1969 to assist those suffering from leprosy. Pope John Paul II celebrated the World Day of Leprosy there in 1990.
Comments