Angelina Jolie Visits Ukrainian Refugees In Italy As U.N. Envoy

Angelina Jolie visited a children’s hospital by the Vatican that is caring for child refugees from Ukraine on Wednesday. Jolie has been a passionate humanitarian for years and was first named a UNHCR Ambassador for Goodwill back in 2001. She was then promoted to Special Envoy to the UNHCR’s High Commissioner in 2012.

Jolie has been active in aiding and advocating for refugees since this time, and it hasn’t been different since the invasion of Ukraine began unfolding last month. She was seen speaking with ill children at the Bambino Gesu pediatric hospital in Italy, and with medical staff at the facility itself.

Italy, along with many European countries, is seeing an influx of refugees from Ukraine in the wake of the invasion. Unicef has estimated that as many as two million child refugees have left the country, and overall, 60% of children in Ukraine have been forced to flee their homes.

Jolie has been in Rome for the past few days, and despite a few occasional outings and this hospital visit, it’s not clear if the actress is in the city on a small vacation or other business.

She has also been advocating for refugees still suffering from conflicts all over the world. Jolie also visited Yemen in early March to draw attention to the continuing humanitarian crisis that has been unfolding there during the past seven years of war between Houthi rebels and Saudi Arabian-supported government forces. “I visited one informal settlement that was home to 130 families. Only 20 of them receiving any food aid at all – and then, it was only when funding was available,” Jolie said.