Unicef: Latin America suffers complex child migration crisis

Unicef ​​has received 10.7 million euros (US$ 11.1 million) from the European Union (EU) that will be used to care for almost 500,000 people, 318,000 of them childrenin 7 countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, a region that lives “one of the largest and most complex child migration crises in the world”.

“Due to protracted political and socioeconomic crises, escalating violence, and natural disasters, Latin America and the Caribbean is facing one of the largest and most complex child migration crises in the world. In the region, around one in four people on the move is an infant”, said this Friday the United Nations Fund for Children or UNICEF in a public statement.

Before him “increased migration and risks from natural disasters” The EU, through its Department of Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO), has provided “a total of 10.7 million euros in support of UNICEF’s efforts to provide help to the most vulnerable migrant and refugee children, as well as to strengthen disaster preparedness in countries in the region” Latin American and Caribbean.

The UNICEF regional office for Latin America and the Caribbean, which is based in Panama City, specified that the comprehensive response of UNICEF for vulnerable communities includes mental health and psychosocial support, learning spaces, health care facilities and protection centers.

These services will reach more than 472,000 people, including 318,000 children and adolescents in Brazil, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, PeruTrinidad and Tobago and Venezuela.

In Central America, work will be done to strengthen the resilience of protection and education services for more than 101,000 people, including 57,000 children and adolescents in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama.

In the Caribbean, it will help improve the emergency response capacity of social service systems and strengthen disaster preparedness in vulnerable communities to provide more than 234,000 people, including 70,000 children, with access to safe drinking water, nutrition, health and education services.

“Thousands of children and adolescents and their families are leaving their homes due to multiple protracted crises, including violence, food insecurity, poverty, limited access to quality essential services, and climate threats.”, said the regional director of UNICEF for Latin America and the Caribbean, Garry Conille.

The financing of the EUwill help UNICEF to provide vital assistance to the most vulnerable children and families, ensuring they have access to basic services during their migration journey and in host communities”, he added.

The historic migration of Latin Americans to the United States has been added in recent years by the Venezuelan exodus, with more than 7 million people leaving that country, of which more than 6 million people have been welcomed by countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, according to data from the UN Refugee Agency or UNHCR.

Source: EFE