The Humanitarian medical organization Doctors Without Borders (MSF), in collaboration with Donk Humanitarian Medicine Odv, has opened an orientation center for migrants, refugees, asylum seekers, and Italian nationals in Italy's northeastern port city of Trieste.

The center is meant to facilitate their access to the Italian healthcare system (SSN), reducing barriers to treatment, and strengthening services already offered by Donk, including psychological support and Spazio 11 -- Sala di Attesa Solidale, which offers healthcare reception at night to migrants and asylum seekers, as well as others available on the ground through support with the use of public services, collaborations with local associations, and dialogue with institutions.

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Eighth center of its kind in Italy

MSF has opened similar centers in seven other Italian cities -- Turin, Palermo, Udine, Rome, Naples, Milan, and Bari -- as part of the Health, Orientation, Promotion, Education (HOPE) project.

Since 2021, a total of 2,377 migrants have made use of the project, and have accessed 5,361 services.

In 2025, the most frequent requests were for the registration and renewal of a Temporarily Present Foreigner/non-registered EU-national card (STP/ENI), accounting for 23.3 percent of requests, and SSN registration (18.8 percent).

"Behind every person who arrives in Trieste after having crossed the Balkan route, there is a journey marked by hardship, risks, and fragility. Too often access to treatment becomes another obstacle due to administrative or linguistic barriers," said Yannick Julliot, head of MSF's HOPE projects.

The center, Julliot added, "will offer tangible support to people in transit or who live in the cities where the project is on offer. HOPE provides orientation towards services on offer within Italy, such as the request for a healthcare card, and reservations for specialist appointments. Volunteers at the center can also accompany migrants upon request to other healthcare services.

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Center managed by volunteers

"This new socio-healthcare service," Donk Humanitarian Medicine chairman Stefano Bardari noted, "will facilitate access to treatment for everyone, accompanying people in the most complicated health files with the aim of countering inequalities in healthcare."

The MSF center is managed by a group of volunteers already supporting services offered by Donk Humanitarian Medicine, alongside cultural mediation services.

These volunteers comprise young people, students, workers, and retirees who have chosen to donate their time, energy, and knowledge to the project.

All the volunteers attended an ad hoc training course to be able to provide assistance to those who come to the center.

The access is entirely free and there is no need for reservations. The address is: Casa Donk, Via Udine 11, Trieste, with opening hours of between 9 and 12 on Monday mornings and Wednesday afternoons from 2 to 5 pm.

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