"Today is an epoch-marking day for Mozambique and for the whole world": these are the words of Father Alberto Ferreira, rector of the Catholic University of Mozambique, to the first 13 young students from Mozambique who have graduated as doctors in Beira. The ceremony of last Saturday marked a "turning point": for the first time in the history of the country, doctors have been trained outside the capital Maputo, under an agreement with the local Catholic University, following the Rome peace agreements, which in 1992 had put an end to a long and devastating civil war. "A firm sign for redressing the balance in the access to training opportunities between the north and the south of the country, powerfully supported by the Italian Bishops Conference", states a note from Cuamm (University college for future doctors and missionaries), that attended the ceremony alongside the archbishop of Beira, mgr. Jaime Pedro Gonçalves, who had already played a proactive part in the peace agreements. The ceremony was also attended by delegations from Holland, Germany and the United States. Italy was represented by a delegation headed by the association Medici con l’Africa, Cuamm, which since 2004 has been supporting the Medical Faculty with two doctors training the students, as well as helping the Central Hospital of Beira, the country’s second largest hospital. (continued)
