Save the Children asks to protect 100,000 children in Ukrainian orphanages

The child protection organization Save the children called on the international community on Monday to prioritize the protection of some 100,000 children residing in orphanages and other state institutions in Ukraine, who are at risk of “being left behind” as the conflict progresses.

The London-based NGO asked governments and international organizations in a statement to take measures to prevent these minors from being “permanently separated from their families” or becoming victims of “abuse, exploitation, trafficking and abandonment.”

This includes “ensuring that children without caregivers have access to safe transport and housing, quality health care, protection and psychosocial support,” says the humanitarian organization.

For family reunification to be possible, “it is essential that the competent authorities and the relatives of these children participate jointly in their transfer and subsequent location,” he says.

Ukraine has one of the highest rates of institutional care in Europe, with around 1.3% of all children placed in some kind of residential care facility, according to NGO data.

Save the children warns that many of them are now trapped in these institutions and there is concern that eventually “they will not be able to access adequate care”, be it medical or food and heating.

“We are extremely concerned about the safety and well-being of these children, especially those with disabilities. Many have living relatives willing to care for them, but with the hostilities, we fear that they will all be left behind,” said Irina Saghoyan, director of the NGO in Eastern Europe.

Save the Children works with other agencies to help reunite children, including those fleeing conflict alone, with family and friends in Ukraine, Poland and neighboring countries, as well as to establish child protection systems and abuse reporting mechanisms. . (I)