More than 30,000 minors and adolescents crossed the Darién jungle , the dangerous natural border of Panama and Colombia , between January and April, 40% more than in the same period of 2023, Unicef said this Wednesday , which warned that child migration Along this trail, it is heading towards a new record in 2024.
“The migration of children and adolescents through the Darién jungle has become a prolonged crisis. Based on the trends observed in the first four months and the regional context, it is estimated that in 2024 800,000 could cross the jungle. including 160,000 people under the age of 18, and many are likely to need humanitarian assistance,” the United Nations body said in a statement.
The increase recorded this year in the number of boys and girls migrating through the border jungle “makes this route on track to record a record of child migration for the fifth consecutive year, according to Unicef analysis,” the letter added. official.
Unaccompanied migrant minors multiply
The United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) stated that of the 30,000 boys, girls and adolescents in transit through the jungle registered in the first four months of this year, almost 2,000 were separated or unaccompanied. of their families.
“The numbers of unaccompanied and separated children and adolescents have tripled compared to this same period in 2023. The number of people under 18 years of age in transit is also increasing at a rate five times greater than that of adults,” he added. .
The Darien jungle, stressed UNICEF deputy executive director Ted Chaiban , “is not a place for children. Many children and adolescents have died on this arduous and dangerous journey.”
“There are women who give birth along the way and bring new lives into the world in the most complicated circumstances. Many of the people who survive the journey arrive sick, hungry and dehydrated, often with wounds or infections and urgently need help,” he emphasized. .
“Children and adolescents represent a fifth of those who make this journey; Unicef’s presence and response are more important than ever. It is essential that we have adequate financing, which allows us to be ready to provide help to these children and girls, regardless of their country of origin or destination,” Chaiban added.
Lack of funds for humanitarian management
This year, Unicef requested $7.64 million to meet the urgent needs of the increasing number of children and families transiting through Panama, but currently, barely 10% of these funds have been received, said the world body. in his statement.
He also pointed out that the agency’s staff has supported children in transit in Darién and Panama since 2018, the year in which 522 children and adolescents crossed the tropical jungle, which is the border with Colombia.
“Thanks to financial support from the United States Government and the European Union , and its own funds, Unicef provides services in water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), child protection, case management, maternal and child health and gender violence at critical points located along this migratory route. The actions also include assistance to ten host communities or communities impacted by migration,” the official information indicated.
According to Panamanian authorities, more than 151,000 mobile people arrived in the Central American country through Darién between January 1 and May 14.
In recent years, Panama has requested more international aid and a multinational approach to this migratory and humanitarian crisis, evidenced by the fact that more than half a million people crossed the jungle last year, an unprecedented number.
The elected president of Panama, José Raúl Mulino , who will take power on July 1, has promised to repatriate, with international help and respecting human rights, migrants who arrive in the country through the jungle.
Newsessentials Blog 
Posted on May 17, 2024
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