The Italian Air Force C130 arrived in Mogadishu at the weekend, departing from Pisa with a cargo of medicines, surgical kits, medical devices, thermal cribs and wheelchairs for two hospitals in the Somali capital, the former De Martino and the former Forlanini.

Sponsored by the Order of Malta, the initiative represents a first step towards restoring relations with the Horn of Africa country, one of the poorest and most unstable in the world.

The medical supplies for the ex De Martino hospital, the only public facility in Mogadishu to provide free treatment to the Somali population, were delivered by Dr Pierangelo Panozzo, who then went to an orphanage and the city’s women’s prison to deliver sewing machines and sewing supplies to the inmates.

The Order of Malta’s humanitarian activities in Somalia – with which diplomatic relations were established in 1961 – have in the past mainly been focused on providing healthcare for patients with Hansen’s disease.

The Sovereign Order of Malta enjoys diplomatic relations with 38 countries in Africa and has the status of Permanent Representative to the African Union. It runs numerous projects in East Africa, in particular in Kenya, South Sudan, Uganda and Ethiopia – largely managed by Malteser International, the worldwide relief agency – for treating HIV-positive mothers and children, malaria, tuberculosis, as well as providing drinking-water facilities, WASH programmes, assistance in refugee camps, basic healthcare and medical and psychological care for victims of sexual violence.