Italian Red Cross health clinics: Ensuring care and protecting dignity

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In Italy, too many people are still forced to choose between having a hot meal and going to the doctor. The Officine della Salute [health clinics] of the Italian Red Cross were set up in 2022 to help reduce social and health inequalities that emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, they have continued to respond to a real and increasingly widespread need, opening their doors to those in need to ensure that health remains accessible to all.

These clinics are safe, protected spaces where anyone going through times of social or health difficulties can find real solutions to their needs. From specialist consultations to ‘solidarity pharmacies’ and preventative healthcare and screening, they provide a wide range of integrated services free of charge to build personalised health plans aimed at removing the barriers that prevent people in vulnerable situations from accessing conventional public services.

The work of the clinics comprises several strands, and is tailored to the needs on the ground and the availability of volunteer health professionals. The first is direct medical care: at outpatient clinics, doctors from the Italian Red Cross provide free consultations at no cost to the patients. This is an extraordinary undertaking, which in 2025 alone enabled more than 7 300 general practitioner consultations and another 23 300 specialist consultations, including psychological support and health screening.

These clinics also act as ‘solidarity pharmacies’, which, through 50 Italian Red Cross local committees, provide free medication, including over-the-counter medicines, and medical devices to those in economically and socially vulnerable situations. An effort that to date has seen more than 71 000 pharmaceutical packages provided to those in need.

And then there is prevention: the Officine della Salute project is about providing care locally and is aimed at anyone who needs support. This includes promoting well-being, with thematic days open to the community during which people can undergo preventative checks and receive information on healthy lifestyles.

Rosario VALASTRO (Italy)

Member, EESC Civil Society Organisations' Group

National President, Italian Red Cross

© EU/EESC