Italian health agencies roll out free screening camps in Avellino and Palermo

The provincial health authority of Avellino (ASL) continued its "Summer Camp(er)" mobile health tour, setting up free screening stations on Saturday 18 July in Montefusco and Sunday 19 July in Sorbo Serpico. Residents could book appointments for breast mammography (women 50‑69), cervical Pap/HPV tests (women 25‑64), colonoscopy screening (men and women 50‑69) and rapid hepatitis C testing (people born 1969‑1989). An information point on organ donation was also available.

In Palermo, the Ambulatori Popolari project, in partnership with the Gastroenterology and Hepatology Unit of the Paolo Giaccone Hospital, completed a free hepatitis B and C screening campaign that reached 1,500 adults in neighborhoods, social venues and public spaces. Tests were rapid, anonymous and required no appointment. The overall positivity rate was 1 %, and those who tested positive were referred for further diagnostic work‑up at the hospital. Both initiatives highlight a "medicine of proximity" approach, bringing preventive health services directly to the community.