The UN Children’s Agency (UNICEF) reports that two children drown on average per day while trying to cross the Central Mediterranean due to the lack of safe and legal routes and absence of robust search and rescue capacities to protect them.
The number of children lost to migration attempts has doubled since last year, driven by conflicts in Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, West Africa, and Afghanistan, the report adds.
In the first six months of 2023, 289 children died, equivalent to 11 children dying every week, according to Verena Knaus, the UNICEF’s global chief on migration and displacement.
Knaus also said the number of children making the crossing alone has tripled compared to last year.
