IDH is an integral part of the Alleanza degli Ospedali Italiani nel Mondo (Alliance of Italian Hospitals in the World) and has started a tele-consultation service in concert with many Italian and International medical centres with the aim of promoting the international exchange of information and scientific data. The goal of the Alleanza is to improve, through the use of medical tele-consultations and distance-training, the quality of health services provided by Italian health centres for needy populations throughout the world. Joining the project are Italian world health centres (located in 22 countries) and 33 National specialistic health centres (see figure 2). The latter are represented by IRCCS (Istituti di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico) and other significant public and private hospitals. The project sets the following operational objectives:

• The reduction, mainly through the use of tele-consultation services, of the clinical-diagnostic and techno-organizational problems that often exist in health centres abroad;
• The improvement, through an e-learning service, of the professional skills of the healthcare staff at the Italian health centres worldwide;
• The establishment of a collaboration between the Italian hospitals abroad and the National specialistic health centres, which can serve for the best interest of both organizations—for example, they can exchange expertise and experiment jointly innovative solutions;
• The understanding of population health needs in order to support the formulation of effective healthcare policies driven by local and national governments.

San Gallicano Institute, in this frame, is among the centres coordinating the activities of the Italian health centres in Africa. It also provides scientific expertise on dermatology via telematic consultation and training to all associated health centres, included the IISMAS in Mekele- Ethiopia. In 2005, 17 difficult counsellings were provided through teleconsultation.