Recenti Progressi in Medicina · 2020 · 17 citations · 0 references
Public HealthHealth PolicyPublic Health PracticeDisaster PreparednessHealth EquityHomelessnessHomelessness PreventionHumanitarian HealthHumanitarian ReliefPandemic PreparednessPandemic ResponsePublic Health ResponseAffected CommunitiesHomelessness Prevention PolicyHomelessness ReductionHuman Rights MechanismsMedical Humanitarian AssistanceMedical ReliefProtection Of Homeless PopulationsVulnerable Communities
Italy is one of the most affected countries by the new coronavirus (CoViD-19) pandemic. In the country, there are an estimated 49,000-52,000 homeless people. People experiencing homelessness are among the potentially most vulnerable groups to the CoViD-19. Despite this, in Italy there is a worrying delay in implementation of a national coordinated strategy to protect homeless people from the potentially devastating effects caused by CoViD-19. In order to contain the epidemic among the most vulnerable people, we propose a short operational agenda based on the field experience of the medical-humanitarian organization Medici per i Diritti Umani (Doctors for Human Rights, Italy - MEDU) as well as on the example of initiatives taken by other countries.