The UN refugee agency UNHCR and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) conducted a visit to the Italian island of Lampedusa on Wednesday (July 26).

Afterwards, they released a joint statement, commenting on the development of the hotspot hosting migrants and refugees since the Italian Red Cross took over its management in June.

They said that progress had been achieved by the authorities and Red Cross, but also noted due to a large number of migrants arriving, additional logistical and operational efforts were needed. They said that transfers from the Lampedusa hotspot to suitable facilities across the entire country should be increased and sped up.

66% of asylum seeker sea arrivals on Lampedusa

Over 84,300 people arrived in Italy via sea between January 1 and July 23, a 144% rise on the previous year. Of them, 66% landed on Lampedusa, compared with 48% in the same period of the previous year. Among the migrants to arrive so far this year on Italy's shore were over 8,700 unaccompanied minors.

The hotspot in Lampedusa, which houses asylum seekers immediately after their arrival before they are usually transferred to another center in Italy, has often been dramatically overcrowded, including in recent months.

UNHCR's Italy, Holy See, and San Marino representative Chiara Cardoletti and Nicola Dell'Arciprete, UNICEF coordinator for migrant and refugee response in Italy, underscored during their visit in Lampedusa that there was a need for rapid and targeted responses for unaccompanied minors and other vulnerable people received in the hotspot in order to ensure their wellbeing and security.

More support needed for unaccompanied minors

UNHCR and UNICEF also called for more asylum seeker housing facilities to be opened across Italy and an expansion of existing facilities in order to lighten the pressure on centers in Sicily and Calabria. The two most southern regions usually see the largest number of migrants and refugees arriving.