site.btaBulgaria Ranks Fourth in EU in Number of Unaccompanied Refugee Children

Bulgaria ranks fourth in number of unaccompanied refugee children in the European Union, said on Tuesday Ivan Ivanov, Chair of the State Agency for Refugees with the Council of Ministers, at a presentation of a project on creating alternative social services for unaccompanied refugee children in Bulgaria. In 2020, more than 70% of all children who applied for protection were without parents and separated from their families.

Ivanov underlined that all this makes it extremely necessary to create a sustainable mechanism for the protection, support, and social inclusion of these children.

The State Agency for Refugees is partnering on the project with the International Organization for Migration, UNICEF, and the municipalities of Burgas, Ivaylovgrad, Tundzha, and Malko Tarnovo.

“Let this be the first successful step towards creating a sustainable and functioning mechanism to support one of the most vulnerable, sensitive, and specific groups among those seeking protection, namely children,” Ivanov said. “These people arrive in Bulgaria without a parent or legal guardian, often in a severe emotional and physical condition. Sometimes urgent action is needed to admit them to hospital,” said the Agency's Chair. He expressed regret that there is currently such a case of a boy from Afghanistan who is in such condition. “A significant number of these children have experienced violence and severe emotional pressure during their migration journey,” Ivanov said, adding that the statistics on the number of unaccompanied refugee children are alarming.

The Chair expressed satisfaction that full support had been found in talks with the mayors of the four municipalities. “The goal is not simply to accommodate them in these centers, but to build a model of care based on a comprehensive approach to the child, focusing on their individual needs and opportunities for social inclusion in our country,” said Ivanov.

He expressed his gratitude for the exceptional commitment of the partners - the International Organization for Migration and UNICEF Bulgaria. “I know that this will not be an easy path and will require the joint efforts of all institutions,” Ivanov added. He said that he had spoken with many social workers from existing social services. "Building a trusting relationship with each child, understanding their concerns and needs, the problems they face in adapting to school and the community, health care or emergency treatment, searching for and connecting with the families of these children requires a lot of effort. I believe that the model that will be created to care for unaccompanied refugee children will be workable and successful," said Ivanov.

The project is worth BGN 26,132,610, of which BGN 23,519,349 constitutes up to 90% of the total eligible project costs, and BGN 2,613,261 constitutes up to 10% of the total eligible project costs, which are co-financed by the State budget.