Over the last decade, Italy has become one of the main entry points to Europe for undocumented migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers arriving by sea. Whether departing from Libya or Tunisia, most experience extreme violence, abuse, and ill-treatment on this migration route.  

In northern Italy, between February 2023 and July 2024, MSF provided medical consultations, referrals, and information about other available services 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, Liguria region.

We also supported civil society associations in Oulx, Piedmont region, and Trieste, Friuli-Venezia Giulia region, to deliver basic healthcare to migrants.

In the south, another MSF team provided medical and psychological support to migrants upon disembarkation in Roccella Ionica, Calabria region, between June 2022 and September 2024. Due to a considerable reduction in the number of arrivals in this region, we handed these activities over to the Italian Red Cross.  

In July, an MSF team began conducting medical consultations, referrals for specialised care, and psychological support for migrants in Agrigento, on the island of Sicily, where many people identified as vulnerable are transferred to reception centres after arriving by sea.

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

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

MSF volunteers continued to support migrants, asylum seekers, and marginalised people to access medical services in Palermo, Naples, Rome, Turin, and Udine, through dedicated helpdesks.