Immigration and health: the Italian National Focal Point experience.

This report is a description of the situation of migrant populations in Italy. It was written by a committed team of experts from public institutions, non-governmental organisations (NGO) and volunteer associations that for three years have been part of the Italian National Focal Point (NFP) within the European Project "AIDS & Mobility", which is being co-ordinated by the Netherlands Institute for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention (the Netherlands) and financed by the European Commission DG/V. This year the Italian National Focal Point, co-ordinated by the Telefono Verde AIDS of the Istituto Superiore di Sanità, has produced a second report (the first one was published in 1998) on health issues related to migrant populations. Besides providing an updated picture on the presence of foreigners in Italy, such report illustrates the present legislative situation within the sanitary area and some interventions regarding prevention, treatment and rehabilitation provided by each structure in the Italian NFP to foreign citizens. The initiatives carried out during the year 1999 by public institutions, NGO and volunteer associations are also reported in order to detect the psycho-social-sanitary needs of immigrants and target prevention programmes to their particular and specific needs.

Immigration and health: the Italian situation. Italian National Focal Point (NFP) of the AIDS & Mobility Project.

This report is a description of the situation of migrant populations in Italy. It was written as part of the European project "AIDS & Mobility", which is being co-ordinated by the Netherlands Institute for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention and financed by the European Union (EU). The report was written by the Italian National Focal Point (NFP) of the AIDS & Mobility Project, which consists of a committed team of experts from public institutions, non-governmental organizations, volunteer associations, and researchers from the Telefono Verde AIDS (National AIDS Help-line of Italy) of the Centro Operativo AIDS (COA, National AIDS Unit of Italy) of the Istituto Superiore di Sanità. The report illustrates the phenomenon of immigration in Italy, with demographic data (updated at 31 December 1997) on the presence of non-Italians and a review of the current laws pertinent to this phenomenon, with particular reference to health care laws. Moreover, epidemiological data on HIV/AIDS and on sexually transmitted diseases are provided, particularly as they relate to drug addiction and prostitution. Finally, following an accurate analysis of the situation and in light of the experience gained, the report includes proposals for identifying needs, objectives to pursue, and strategies to adopt, with respect to confronting the issue of immigration.