Over 20,000 minors were directly assisted by UNICEF last year, according to an annual report issued by the UN organization responsible for supporting children and adolescent migrants and refugees in Italy.

Interventions for child protection

Child protection interventions -- such as actions to protect their rights and improve reception and protection standards -- were provided to about 14,000 minors, including about 5,000 from Ukraine.

In addition, 279 adolescents were entrusted to foster families and/or supported by mentors, while 2,000 minors had access to development programs for language, digital and transversal skills.

Some 2,200 survivors of gender-based conflict were assisted with legal and psychosocial support.

Blue Dot hubs

Another 10,700 people were assisted through "Blue Dot" hubs -- support centers for children and their families set up by UNICEF and UNHCR in response to the Ukraine emergency -- including over 3,000 minors and about 7,000 women.

Blue Dot hubs aim to support vulnerable migrant families and unaccompanied minors exposed to the risk of disease, trauma, violence, exploitation and trafficking.

In response to the Ukraine crisis, UNICEF activated two new Blue Dot centers in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region, at the Fernetti (Trieste) and Tarvisio (Udine) border crossings.

The two centers, which support minors, women, families and people with special needs, remained active throughout all of 2022.