More than 15,000 migrant and refugee children and young people in Italy received support from UNICEF last year, including mental health services and protection programs, the organization said in its 2025 annual report.
UNICEF last year reached over 15,000 migrant and refugee children, teens and youths through its aid program in Italy, according to the organization's 2025 annual report drafted by its Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia. In particular, UNICEF organized programs to promote mental health and to prevent and respond to gender-based violence, among other initiatives.
Overall, 3,000 minors, women and families received individual support from local services, while 1,400 vulnerable minors, including migrants and refugees, accessed programs aimed at developing their language, digital and transversal skills, the report noted.
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Some 12,000 unaccompanied foreign minors reached Italy last year
UNICEF noted in the report that over 66,000 migrants and refugees travelled to Italy in 2025 through the central Mediterranean route: two out of 10 were children and teens, including an estimated 12,000 unaccompanied minors, a figure on the rise compared to the number of minors who reached the country the previous year.
The Central Mediterranean remained one of the most dangerous migration routes with an estimated 1,300 people who were reported missing or dead in 2025, including many minors.
According to figures in the 2025 annual report, more than 1,100 unaccompanied minors and young migrants and refugees last year registered on the platform U-Report On The Move, a digital tool developed by the organization to support young migrants and refugees in Italy. The platform now has a total of 19,600 subscribers.
Meanwhile, the organization reached out to 79,000 people through digital messages concerning healthcare and access to social services.
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Aim in 2026 is to reach approximately 30,000 people
UNICEF's program in Italy was organized together with the Italian Committee for UNICEF Fondazione ETS and in cooperation with institutional partners at a European, national and local level, as well as with universities and civil society organizations.
The initiatives launched by the agency were also supported by contributions from private partners, as well as donations from individuals and companies.
The program will be promoted throughout 2026 with the aim of reaching some 30,000 people with direct interventions and up to 100,000 with online interventions, UNICEF said.
"The stories we hear every day remind us that targeted actions can change lives," said Nicola Dell'Arciprete, the coordinator of the program in Italy from UNICEF's Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia.
"It is important to continue to work in order to strengthen the system of protection and inclusion, consolidate effective models and transform concrete experiences into structural solutions so every minor can grow in an environment that protects them and enhances their potential," he concluded.
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