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GENEVA/TORONTO, Dec. 1, 2015 /CNW/ - Unpredictable border restrictions and harsh weather are compounding the hardships and challenges for refugee and migrant children and women who now account for more than half of all arrivals by sea.
From the beginning of 2015 until November, more than 876,000 people arrived on European shores after crossing the Mediterranean. The proportion of women and children has continued to rise since the summer. In June, it was 27 per cent children and women; in November it increased to 52 per cent.*
To minimize further risks and suffering, UNICEF is rolling out winter preparations and contingency plans to adapt to a rapidly changing situation.
"So far, the European winter has been relatively mild but that is changing. Our biggest worry now is that the harsh winter weather and unpredictable border restrictions will leave thousands of children in limbo, at risk of flu and respiratory illnesses," said Marie-Pierre Poirier, UNICEF Special Coordinator for the Refugee and Migrant Crisis in Europe. "But warm clothes, scarves and baby socks are not enough. Children on the move have lived through war, deprivation and hardship; now they need stability, protection and support."
UNICEF's winterization response targets migration routes
UNICEF has already started to distribute winter clothes, children's footwear, blankets, hygiene kits and equipment to weatherproof and heat all UNICEF-supported child-friendly spaces in the countries with the highest number of children on the move: Croatia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Serbia and, soon, Slovenia and Greece.
Within its winterization activities, UNICEF has made contingency plans to respond to the evolving needs of children and women and to sudden changes in the pattern of migratory routes – in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Montenegro and Romania, as well as in Kosovo (UNSCR 1244).
UNICEF is working with UNHCR and the Red Cross to scale up existing networks of child-friendly spaces and mother and baby centres into Children and Family Support Hubs to assist and protect children and their caregivers with a range of measures such as legal aid and restoring family links.
* Hellenic Police/UNHCR 30 November 2015
About UNICEF
UNICEF has saved more children's lives than any other humanitarian organization. We work tirelessly to help children and their families, doing whatever it takes to ensure children survive. We provide children with healthcare and immunization, clean water, nutrition and food security, education, emergency relief and more.
UNICEF is supported entirely by voluntary donations and helps children regardless of race, religion or politics. As part of the UN, we are active in over 190 countries - more than any other organization. Our determination and our reach are unparalleled. Because nowhere is too far to go to help a child survive. For more information about UNICEF, please visit www.unicef.ca. For updates, follow us on Twitter and Facebook or visit unicef.ca.
SOURCE UNICEF Canada
Image with caption: "A boy sits beside a railroad track on a rainy day near the town of Gevgelija, in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, near the Greek border. Next to him, a woman and a young child sit with their luggage beneath an umbrella. Behind them, others who have fled their homes amid the ongoing refugee and migrant crisis walk beside the railroad track. (CNW Group/UNICEF Canada)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20151201_C5968_PHOTO_EN_555944.jpg
To arrange interviews or for more information please contact: Tiffany Baggetta, UNICEF Canada, 416-482-6552 ext. 8892; 647-308-4806 (mobile), [email protected]
UNICEF is the world’s leading humanitarian organization focused on children. We work in the most challenging areas to provide protection, healthcare and immunizations, education, safe water and sanitation and nutrition. As part of the United Nations, our unrivaled reach...
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