Giuseppe Ambrosoli
Encyclopedia
Father Doctor Giuseppe Ambrosoli (25 July 1923 - 27 March 1987), oftern referred to as Father Giuseppe or as Dr. Ambrosoli, was a Catholic priest, physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...

, surgeon
Surgeon
In medicine, a surgeon is a specialist in surgery. Surgery is a broad category of invasive medical treatment that involves the cutting of a body, whether human or animal, for a specific reason such as the removal of diseased tissue or to repair a tear or breakage...

, missionary
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...

, philanthropist
Philanthropist
A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...

, educator and visionary
Visionary
Defined broadly, a visionary, is one who can envision the future. For some groups this can involve the supernatural or drugs.The visionary state is achieved via meditation, drugs, lucid dreams, daydreams, or art. One example is Hildegard of Bingen, a 12th century artist/visionary and Catholic saint...

 in Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...

.

Education

He studied medicine and surgery at the University of Milan
University of Milan
The University of Milan is a higher education institution in Milan, Italy. It is one of the largest universities in Europe, with about 62,801 students, a teaching and research staff of 2,455 and a non-teaching staff of 2,200....

, graduating with the degree of Doctor of Medicine
Doctor of Medicine
Doctor of Medicine is a doctoral degree for physicians. The degree is granted by medical schools...

 (MD). He then proceeded to obtain the Diploma in Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (DTM&H) from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine is a constituent college of the federal University of London, specialising in public health and tropical medicine...

, in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

. He then returned to Italy and trained to become a Catholic Priest. He was ordained as a priest in Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...

 on 17 December 1955.

Missionary work

Dr. Ambrosoli trained both as a priest in the Catholic Church and as a physician and surgeon, before he arrived in Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...

, as a member of the Comboni Missionaries
Daniel Comboni
Daniel Comboni was a Roman Catholic missionary and Saint.-Early life:He was born at Limone sul Garda, Brescia, Italy, into a family of cultivators employed by one of the rich local proprietors...

. In February 1956, he was posted to Kalongo
Kalongo
Kalongo is a town in Northern Uganda. It is one of the urban centers in Agago District.-Location:Kalongo is located in Agago District, Acholi sub-region, in Northern Uganda. Its location lies approximately , southeast of Kitgum, the nearest large town. This location lies approximately , by road,...

, in Northern Uganda
Northern Region, Uganda
Northern Region is a region of Uganda. It is divided into the following districts:...

, to serve as the Parish Priest and also to run a dispensary that at that time was seeing a lot of leprosy
Leprosy
Leprosy or Hansen's disease is a chronic disease caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium leprae and Mycobacterium lepromatosis. Named after physician Gerhard Armauer Hansen, leprosy is primarily a granulomatous disease of the peripheral nerves and mucosa of the upper respiratory tract; skin lesions...

 cases.

In 1957, Dr. Ambrosoli began the transformation of Kalongo Dispensary into Kalongo Hospital. He is credited with the transformation of care for leprosy patients
Leprosy
Leprosy or Hansen's disease is a chronic disease caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium leprae and Mycobacterium lepromatosis. Named after physician Gerhard Armauer Hansen, leprosy is primarily a granulomatous disease of the peripheral nerves and mucosa of the upper respiratory tract; skin lesions...

, by admitting them to the same hospital as other patients, instead of confining them to leprosaria, which at that time were badly managed and led to patient neglect, particularly in Tropical Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

.

Today, the hospital is a 350-bed, community, non-profit, general hospital that admits patients in the disciplines of Internal Medicine
Internal medicine
Internal medicine is the medical specialty dealing with the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of adult diseases. Physicians specializing in internal medicine are called internists. They are especially skilled in the management of patients who have undifferentiated or multi-system disease processes...

, General Surgery
General surgery
General surgery, despite its name, is a surgical specialty that focuses on abdominal organs, e.g., intestines including esophagus, stomach, small bowel, colon, liver, pancreas, gallbladder and bile ducts, and often the thyroid gland . They also deal with diseases involving the skin, breast, soft...

, Pediatrics
Pediatrics
Pediatrics or paediatrics is the branch of medicine that deals with the medical care of infants, children, and adolescents. A medical practitioner who specializes in this area is known as a pediatrician or paediatrician...

 and Obstetrics
Obstetrics
Obstetrics is the medical specialty dealing with the care of all women's reproductive tracts and their children during pregnancy , childbirth and the postnatal period...

/Gynecology. The hospital has been re-named Dr. Ambrosoli Memorial Hospital, after its founder. In 1959 he established the St Mary's School of Midwivery, with a view of someday in the future handing over the care of the patients to local Ugandan staff.

Death

Father Doctor Giuseppe Ambrosoli died on Friday 27 March 1987 at the Comboni Mission in Lira, Uganda
Lira, Uganda
Lira is a city in Northern Uganda. It is the main municipal, administrative and commercial centre of Lira District. Lira was the main metropolitan center of the now defunct Lango District ....

, as his successor at Kalongo, Dr. Fr. Egidio Tocalli, was enroute to evacuate him by helicopter. The cause of his death is stated as Renal Failure
Renal failure
Renal failure or kidney failure describes a medical condition in which the kidneys fail to adequately filter toxins and waste products from the blood...

. His final resting place is not clear at this time.

After his death

In March 1987, as the Lord's Resistance Army insurgency waged in the Acholi sub-region, and in the neighboring subregions of Lango and Teso
Teso sub-region
Teso sub-region is a region in Uganda that consists of:* Amuria District* Bukedea District* Kaberamaido District* Katakwi District* Kumi District* Ngora District* Serere District* Soroti District...

, the Uganda People's Defense Force, forcibly evacuted the staff and patients of Kalongo Hospital and set fire to the medicine and hospital supplies left behind, to presvent them from falling into the hands of the LRA
LRA
LRA may refer to:* the Lord's Resistance Army, a rebel group in Uganda* Local Registration Authority, relating to digital "keys"* Lake Ridge Academy, a school in North Ridgeville, Ohio, USA...

. The nursing school was temporarily relocated to Angal Hospital, near the town of Nebbi
Nebbi
Nebbi is a town in Northern Uganda. It is the 'chief town' of Nebbi District and the district headquarters are located there. The district was named after the town.-Location:...

 in Nebbi District
Nebbi District
Nebbi District is a district in Northern Uganda. It is named after its main municipal, commercial and administrative centre, Nebbi, the location of the district headquarters.-Location:...

. Dr. Ambrosoli Memorial Hospital was re-established in 1989 and the nursing school was relocated back to Kalongo in 1990.

External links


See also

  • Kalongo
    Kalongo
    Kalongo is a town in Northern Uganda. It is one of the urban centers in Agago District.-Location:Kalongo is located in Agago District, Acholi sub-region, in Northern Uganda. Its location lies approximately , southeast of Kitgum, the nearest large town. This location lies approximately , by road,...

  • Agago District
    Agago District
    Agago District is a district in Northern Uganda.-Location:Agago District is bordered by Kitgum District to the north, Kotido District to the northeast, Abim District to the east, Otuke District, to the south, and Pader District to the west. Agago, the location of the district headquarters is...

  • Acholi sub-region
  • Northern Region, Uganda
    Northern Region, Uganda
    Northern Region is a region of Uganda. It is divided into the following districts:...

  • Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Gulu
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