In the framework of the cooperation relations promoted from the United Nation Development Programs in Sri Lanka is included the partnership with ACCI International Cooperation Association from Como, Italy which put together different levels of the local communities – public institutions, universities, associations, private sector - in order to play an active role for cooperation with the involvement of the best practises of the territory.

With this aim, according to the Government of Sri Lanka and the United Nations has been identified the Italian pre-hospital rescue system of Como “118” as one of the high technical partners into the "ART GOLD SRI LANKA".
Goal of the project was to train medical and no medical personnel to the pre-hospital trauma and no-trauma response.
Como is a beautiful town in the north of Italy, closed to the Swiss border and to the main roads connection between Italy and Northern Europe and around 600.000 people are living into Como’s district.
The features and the social level are typical of an industrial and developed western country, with important industrial plant into the district, risks related at railways and flying transport, road accidents, worker accidents.
The Pre-hospital Emergency System “118” is a service of the main hospital of the town (“S.Anna Hospital”) where doctors and nurses work for.

Our System is one of the oldest institutions born in Italy in the eighties, and specialized on pre-hospital care.
Our personnel - doctors, nurses and drivers - is trained on basic and advanced rescue protocols, and our activity is very peculiar: on fast cars, on helicopter with HEMS and SAR performances, in the Dispatch Center, in the ICU, and on training too.
Our Dispatch Center manages around 60.000 emergency calls an year, our helicopter medical service manages more than 600 emergency mission and the rescue philosophy is to reach and treat the population as soon as possible when need, according with the international protocols on the pre-hospital emergencies management.
Good and efficient are the relationship with the local governments, with the Fire Brigades and Police both.
In the last ten years, we performed a good cooperation together with national and international scientific societies and many doctors and nurses are into few of the most important national workshop and committees, and scientific works were published concerning the best pre-hospital care performances and management.
At the same time, a national training center was created in Como, according with the scientific center “Centro di Cultura Scientifica A.Volta” (www.Centrovolta.it).

Other regional pre-hospital system and the University “A.Avogadro” of Eastern Piedmont (located in Novara) are partners inside the training center and support all training activities.
The Eastern Piedmont University of Novara actually is a leader in the management of an international II level master on Disaster Medicine (EMDM), and doctors of the “118” System of Como are inside the EMDM Faculty.