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Ventimiglia

In Italy we are working to support migrants and people on the move in several areas, in collaboration with local health authorities.

 
Italy

“I had no idea how bad it would be. The journey to Europe was worse than what I left behind in Somalia.”

Voices from the Field 2 Jul 2015
 
Mediterranean migration

From Eritrea to Mediterranean: "A Lot of Trouble"

Project Update 2 Jul 2015
 
Mediterranean migration

EU leaders orchestrating humanitarian crisis on Europe’s shores

Press Release 23 Jun 2015
 
Bourbon Argos 2nd rescue, June 1, 2015
Mediterranean migration

MSF saddened by loss of life during Argos ship rescue

Statement 15 Jun 2015
 
Dignity I ready to bolster operations in the Mediterranean Sea
Mediterranean migration

MSF bolsters operations in the Mediterranean Sea

Press Release 13 Jun 2015
 
Psychological support in Ragusa
Italy

MSF provides psychological first aid to survivors of fatal sea crossing

Project Update 3 Jun 2015
In Italy we are working to support migrants and people on the move in several areas, in collaboration with local health authorities.

In Palermo, Sicily, we are working in a clinic to provide medical and mental health care for migrants and refugees who survived intentional physical violence and torture in their country of origin or during their journey to Italy.

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

During the summer months, in the middle of the year, we provide medical and psychological support to people landing in the region of Calabria, identifying migrants and refugees who are medically vulnerable and need further treatment.

Our activities in 2023 in Italy

Data and information from the International Activity Report 2023.

MSF in Italy in 2023 In Italy, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) provides medical and psychological care to migrants, who are often traumatised after their perilous journeys across the Mediterranean Sea and face further challenges as they travel north.
Italy IAR map 2023

Almost 160,000 people arrived in Italy in 2023 after crossing the Mediterranean Sea by boat, according to the Italian Ministry of the Interior. While this number is significantly higher compared to previous years, so too is the number of deaths: 2023 was one of the deadliest years on record, with an estimated 2,526 people losing their lives as they attempted to reach European shores.* 

Our teams in Italy continue to work at the northern and southern borders, offering medical and psychological care to migrants and supporting local organisations who supply them with essential items, such as winter shoes, inflatable hospital tents, and heaters.

In Calabria, our team helped local authorities to provide general healthcare for migrants and asylum seekers upon disembarkation at Roccella Ionica, one of the primary landing places in Italy.

Once again, there were multiple shipwrecks off the Italian coast during the year. In response, we sent a mobile team to six locations in Sicily and Calabria, where they conducted eight psychological first-aid interventions to assist survivors and families of the victims.

In northern Italy, our mobile team provided medical consultations, referrals and healthcare orientation to hundreds of people waiting to cross into France, most of whom were living in precarious conditions in unofficial settlements in the city of Ventimiglia after being pushed back from the border.

In Palermo, we maintained our support to the university hospital, delivering comprehensive care for migrants who had experienced torture and intentional violence in Libya and during their journeys. The project has an interdisciplinary approach, offering medical, psychological, social and legal assistance to patients.

MSF scaled up support to migrants by opening two new helpdesks in Rome and Naples. Like the ones already running in Palermo, Turin and Udine, they serve to guide and support migrants, asylum seekers and marginalised people to access medical services.
 

*https://missingmigrants.iom.int/region/mediterranean?region_incident=All&route=3861&year%5B%5D=11681&month=All&incident_date%5Bmin%5D=&incident_date%5Bmax%5D=

 

In 2023