REACH OUT – INTEGRATED HEALTHCARE AND PREVENTION FOR MARGINALISED PEOPLE

REACH OUT – INTEGRATED HEALTHCARE AND PREVENTION FOR MARGINALISED PEOPLE

The “REACH OUT” project aims to improve the health conditions of disadvantaged population groups and migrants through prevention, early diagnosis, and access to treatment for tuberculosis, HIV, sexually transmitted diseases, and hepatitis B and C in Italy, Malta, and Greece.

Through these actions and tools, the project intends to contribute concretely to ensuring integrated healthcare for marginalised people (disadvantaged groups, third-country nationals, trans, and sex workers). At the same time, the project ensures the fight against HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and sexually transmitted diseases through direct services and dissemination of accessible information on prevention, treatment, and therapy. The project aims to increase community awareness and access to basic health services, while at the same time improving the capacity of institutions to respond to the health needs of people in need.

The project, led by INTERSOS,  is financed by the European Commission and is in partnership with the Ministry for Health – Government of Malta, the PRAKSIS association, DIGIVIS, PIN Educational and Scientific Services for the University of Florence, and Arco (Action Research for CO-development).

THE RIGHT TO HEALTH MUST BE GUARANTEED TO EVERY HUMAN BEING

Italy, Malta, and Greece provide the access to Europe’s southern border. In recent years, there has been a steady increase in migration flows: migrants, asylum seekers and refugees have reached their borders via the central and eastern Mediterranean and the Balkan route. These people share the same situations: lack of access to systematic prevention initiatives; limited awareness of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including HIV and hepatitis B and C; access to information on biomedical interventions on HIV transmission; and difficulties in accessing healthcare services not accepted in their countries of origin.