20 February 2013

Acting on Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi’s instructions, Italian Development Cooperation has sent a new consignment of humanitarian aid for Syrian refugees to the Syrian-Turkish border.

“The humanitarian emergency caused by the conflict”, underscored Terzi, “continues to be extremely serious and the conditions of the Syrian people, who are paying an unacceptable price, are the constant focus of our very concrete efforts”. Italy is the second European donor for 2013, with 22 million euros earmarked in addition to the 7.5 million allocated thus far.

Roma 02 January 2013

Minister for Foreign Affairs Giulio Terzi gave instructions to the Italian Cooperation to increase attention to the dramatic humanitarian emergency involving the populations affected by civil war in the North Kivu region of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

11 December 2012

New help from Italy for the Syrian refugees. A emergency humanitarian flight has airlifted 8 generators, 100 multi-purpose tents with heat-cold insulation for the winter, and 2000 blankets to Amman. The supplies, for Syrian refugees currently in refugee camps in Jordan, were delivered to the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), which will distribute them over the next few days.

Support amounting to €7.5 million

In honor of the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves’ second anniversary, the United States is pleased to announce that total investment in support of the Alliance and clean cookstoves has reached up to $114 million. This investment represents a nearly $10 million increase over the past year and will help the Alliance achieve its goal of enabling 100 million homes to adopt clean and efficient stoves and fuels by 2020.

The field hospital donated by Italy to Jordan to come to the aid of Syrian refugees is now fully functional. Assembly of the facility at Zaatari was completed on Saturday September 1st, thanks to the intervention of Minister Terzi and his Jordanian counterpart Judeh, along with the constant pressure of the Italian Embassy in Amman.

Since early 2012, more than 1,000 migrants have arrived on the tiny Italian island of Lampedusa, Sicily by boat from Libya. Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is monitoring the humanitarian and medical situation and providing screening and treatment for tuberculosis and Chagas disease, two neglected diseases to which migrants are particularly vulnerable. In this interview, Dr. Silvia Garelli, MSF head of mission in Italy, discusses MSF’s activities there and the health challenges migrants face.

Are migrants still arriving on Italian shores?

On 16−19 May 2012, representatives of the regional health authorities in Italy and WHO assessed the facilities for both migrants and health services on the islands of Lampedusa and Linosa, the entry points to Europe for many migrants from North and sub-Saharan Africa. Here are the mission’s findings.

• Improvement to the quality of, availability of and access to water and sanitation facilities, and infrastructure in general, is urgently needed.

Italy is stepping up its political, diplomatic and humanitarian commitment to help find a solution to the Syrian crisis. The Senate has approved the decree – with 260 votes in favour and one abstention – on our country’s participation in the UN Observers’ mission. The provision now passes to the Chamber. The financial cover, of around 800,000 euros, will be obtained from the 2012 funding for the mission in Lebanon.

Following a second major earthquake in northern Italy, the Italian Red Cross, in close cooperation with civil protection authorities, has been hard at work undertaking relief and assistance work. Over 200 staff and volunteers swung into action following the magnitude 5.8 quake which struck this morning in Emilia Romagna.

As the operation continues, more people and transport from the Settimo Torinese and Verona emergency intervention centres are arriving and will work under the direction of local authorities.