Italy

In July 2021, we started working once again in Lampedusa, Sicily, where our teams provide medical and mental health care to people on the move who have recently arrived on the island by boat, including dedicated support to survivors of shipwrecks.

In Rome, we support vulnerable migrant women in squats and informal settlements to access sexual and reproductive services, working in several family clinics alongside MoH staff, conducting health promotion activities, and offering psychological care. 

Elsewhere, we monitor the condition of migrants in transit along Italy's borders with France, Austria, and Slovenia, and we support local civil society organizations that provide first aid and basic NFI distributions.

In May, we opened a project in Palermo to improve the provision of care for victims of intentional violence and torture. The project has an interdisciplinary approach, offering medical, psychological, social, and legal assistance, as well as health promotion and outreach activities to identify potential beneficiaries.

In both locations, we implemented activities to tackle COVID-19. In Rome, our teams supported people living in squats and informal settlements, ensuring they had access to the relevant preventive measures, treatment, and vaccinations. We also advocated for the need to remove the administrative barriers that hinder access to vaccinations for unregistered migrants living in Italy.

During the summer in Lampedusa, the main landing site for migrants crossing from North Africa, we supported the provision of first aid and the identification of people with vulnerabilities – such as victims of torture and severe violence – on arrival. Our staff also worked in the migrant hotspot on the island, offering care for fragile and vulnerable patients who needed specific care and follow-up. In addition, we ensured patients were followed up in the quarantine centers in Agrigento.