Villages In Italy Forbid Residents From Getting Seriously Sick, What's The Reason?

Villages in Italy prohibit their citizens from suffering from severe illness (Pexels/Matej Bizjak)

JAKARTA - Recently, a small village in Italy, Belcastro managed to attract the world's attention after issuing a unique ban, namely that its citizens are prohibited from getting seriously ill.

The Mayor of Belcastro, Antonio Torchia issued a warning instructing villagers to avoid illness that requires emergency medical assistance.

Reported by VOI from the BBC website on Thursday, January 9, 2025, the village is located in the Calabria region, one of Italy's poorest areas, Belcastro faces major challenges in terms of health services.

Torchia admits the steps taken are a clear provocation and aims to draw wider attention to serious problems faced by local health systems, which often lack facilities and resources.

With a population of about 1,200 people, half of them over the age of 65, and the nearest hospital for emergency medical care is more than 45 km away. Torchia stated that access to medical services is very limited. The road to the hospital can even only be traversed with a speed limit of 30 km/hour, which further exacerbates the state of emergency.

In addition, the opening hours of village doctor practices are irregular, without service on weekends, holidays, or outside working hours. Torchia told Italian television shows that it is difficult to feel safe when an emergency occurs, the only hope is to reach the hospital on time. However, it is also at high risk due to poor road conditions.

As part of the warning, Belcastro residents were also instructed to avoid behavior that could endanger themselves and not leave the house too often, travel, or exercise, and rest more. Even so, it is still unclear how this rule will be enforced, or whether there are sanctions applied.

Calabria, which is located on the southern tip of Italy, has long faced major problems in its health system due to poor political management and mafia interference. Most of the hospitals in this area have been closed. Since 2009, as many as 18 hospitals in Calabria have been forced to close. This forced nearly half of Calabria's two million residents to seek treatment outside their territory.

As a temporary solution, in 2022, the Italian government announced that Cuba would send 497 doctors to work at medical facilities in Calabria for three years. Regional governor Roberto Occhiuto said the presence of the Cuban doctors had saved the hospital in Calabria.

Many Belcastro residents support the action of the Mayor of Torchia. They argue that this has been done right by highlighting this issue and hoping that the decision will get the attention of the state.