The proper treatment to make Italian research more attractive? For Fabio Scano, WHO medical officer with the TB program in China, the medicine is internationalization. According to the specialist in infectious diseases, a member of the “Italian Leaders Abroad” community of Aspen Institute Italia, that is the only way that the country can contain the brain drain and give further proof of the excellent education provided by Italian universities.
How much did your Italian education influence your career abroad?
I attended the United World College of the Adriatic, located in Duino. As a result, I was closer with the rest of the world than my Italian classmates from the same neighborhood and I naturally wanted to work abroad. I started studying medicine in Padua after high school, purely for economic reasons, and then specialized in infectious diseases. I kept looking abroad, and ended up going to Spain, to Harvard in the U.S., Uganda and Poland. I was in Geneva for a long while, and South Africa. I’ve been medical officer for infectious diseases in China for two years, working with drug resistant TB.
I think my university training was excellent. A little theoretical at times, but it gave me a solid background.
From the point of view of an Italian who has always been interested in foreign experiences, what do you think could boost scientific research in Italy?
Italy could increase its contacts with the rest of the world by, for example, teaching specializations (and there are many in which Italy excels) in English rather than Italian. Research courses should also be in English: universities need to escape national borders and work to join the rankings of the world’s best. International competiveness would spark numerous changes.
Culturally speaking, what are the implications of your experience in China?
I don’t agree with people who say that Italians are adaptable: I don’t think that trait has anything to do with nationality. I have seen a different approach to problem solving in China, and it requires observation of environmental factors. Solutions can only be found with all the factors of the environment: if you go directly to the solution, even if it is a valid one, it will founder. So, if we look at how Italians operate, we see that – more than knowing how to adapt – they apply their creativity.
What challenges are you facing in the fight against TB in China?
I work with the Chinese government and we are talking about using control models paid for by public resources. 150 million people in China live below the poverty line. That is the China I deal with, more than its economic and business miracle. Today, the challenge is reduce the differences between the rural and urban populations: there are 250 million domestic migrants without rights because access to social and health services is tied to residency. Along with epoch-making social, economic and political changes, China also has to face poverty and the spread of infectious diseases. Being the world’s second largest economy also means taking on greater responsibilities towards its population, and the rate of TV can be seen as an indicator of how the government takes cares of its citizens. It is fascinating to see how BRIC, and so China as well, are growing in importance. We’ll be seeing relations between Europe, America and China will change based on the new importance of these actors.
