Yura has been a social worker for many years. “When I started working in social services, I was mainly interested in family therapy,” she says . “In time, I found out that supporting communities to become resilient and self-reliant is an extremely rewarding experience.” A year ago, she joined the Council of Refugee Women in Bulgaria (CRWB) – a…

“I have always had to behave ‘like a girl’ and I am not used to being asked for my opinion, but you ask me to say what I think during these workshops.”   A 13-year-old girl from Syria describes the impact of empowerment workshops in Serbia  Boy is drawing a picture. UNICEF-supported activities for children on the island of Lesvos, Greece The ‘RM…, In Bosnia and Herzegovina, , information workshops have been tailored to the needs of different groups of children, including those who are unaccompanied and separated. Topics over the past year have included personal and oral hygiene, drug and alcohol use and its impact on health, the importance of immunization, early childhood development, medical…, In Bulgaria, , the initiative has supported group sessions that have exceeded their targets, with 99 sessions held for refugee children and mothers – more than three times the 28 sessions envisaged. There were more than twice as many information sessions on gender-based violence as originally planned: 107 rather than 48. In all, 600 refugee and migrant…, In Greece, , support from the initiative has enabled UNICEF and its partners to equip refugee and migrant children with information on health risks, entitlements and services through its non-formal education programme in urban areas and on the islands. In the first full year of the initiative, 1,796 children and 464 parents have received crucial information…, In Italy, , there has been an emphasis on peer-to-peer health literacy over the past year. Young refugees and migrants have shared critical health messages through, for example, the U-Report on the Move platform – a user-friendly, cost-effective and anonymous digital platform with more than 6,000 subscribers, where they speak out on the issues that matter…, Serbia, have also been exceeded, with 1,094 refugee and migrant children and parents receiving information on mental health (original target: 500) and 722 receiving information on GBV (original target: 600). Looking beyond the sheer numbers of beneficiaries, those taking part in health literacy workshops, in particular, have voiced their appreciation. One…

The ‘RM Child-Health’ initiative has supported work across five European countries to improve health literacy among refugee and migrant children. The aim is to enhance their knowledge about key health issues and risks, help them navigate health-service provision in their host countries and empower them to demand health services as their right., Health literacy – the ability to find, understand and use information to promote and maintain good health – matters for all of us. But it is particularly important for refugee and migrant children and adolescents who struggle to access health care. The challenges they face include a chronic lack of health information in their own languages, and a…, Step 1: Identify the challenges and the knowledge gaps, UNICEF has worked with partners and with young refugees and migrants on the ground to identify information gaps – work that has, in turn, guided the development of health literacy packages across all five countries on a range of crucial health issues, from immunization and nutrition to sexual and reproductive health (SRH) and…, Step 2: Fill the knowledge gaps, using established and trusted channels, The assessment of health literacy supported by the ‘RM Child-health’ initiative has confirmed the languages in which all materials should be available, including Arabic, Farsi, French, and many more, as well as the information channels used most often by refugee and migrant communities. Awareness-raising sessions, face-to-face and online workshops…

Logo Logo  , BRUSSELS, GENEVA, 5 May 2020, – Under the Health Programme of the European Union, the Directorate General for Health and Food Safety has committed a project grant to  UNICEF to support work ensuring refugee and migrant children and their families have access to quality health care and accurate health information in Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, Spain, Bosnia Herzegovina and Serbia…

"When COVID arrived here, I thought: ‘It's over, it will spread throughout the building’. I didn't think it was possible to avoid the spread of the outbreak. Instead, we have had very few cases and we owe this, above all, to the support we received from INTERSOS and UNICEF."  Josehaly (Josy), a refugee living in Rome A field worker from Intersos…, In Bulgaria, , UNICEF and its partners were able to take immediate measures with support from the ‘RM Child-Health’ initiative to alleviate the impact, including online awareness raising and information sessions and the use of different channels for communication, including social media. UNICEF’s partners, the Council of Refugee Women in Bulgaria (CRWB) and…, In Greece, , the initiative supported the development of child-friendly information posters and stickers for refugee and migrant children and their families on critical preventive measures and on what to do and where to go if they experience any COVID-19 symptoms., In Italy, , the initiative has supported outreach teams and community mobilization, providing refugee and migrant families with the information and resources they need to keep the pandemic at bay. In Rome, for example, health promoters from Intersos continued to work directly with refugee and migrant communities in informal settlements, not only to prevent…, In Serbia, , the initiative has supported UNICEF’s efforts to improve the immunization process for refugee children and migrants by strengthening the assessment and monitoring process. As a result of such efforts, refugees and migrants have been included in the national COVID-19 Immunization Plan.  , Building on what works, As these examples show, support from the ‘RM Child-Health initiative’ has helped UNICEF and its partners rise to the challenges posed by the pandemic over the past year. The initiative has enabled frontline workers to accelerate, adapt, expand and intensify work that was already underway, and to mobilize social media and other channels, as well as…

Breastmilk saves lives, protects babies and mothers against deadly diseases, and leads to better IQ and educational outcomes, yet rates of breastfeeding in Europe and Central Asia are low, with only 23 percent of the wealthiest families and 31 percent of the poorest breastfeeding up to the recommended age of two. Empowering and enabling women to…

The ‘RM Child-Health’ initiative supports work across five European countries to build the capacity of those working directly with refugee and migrant children and adolescents, equipping them to work effectively with youngsters whose health needs are often complex., Even the best health policy is only as good as its implementation. The success of a policy written down on paper depends entirely on the ability of real-live people on the ground to turn it into tangible action. When it comes to refugee and migrant children in Europe, those who work directly with them will often determine whether or not a policy…, Helping frontline workers help refugee and migrant children, The ‘RM Child-health’ initiative aims to ease the pressure on frontline workers by enhancing their communication with children and by strengthening health systems through, for example, effective referral mechanisms. Better communication between children and health services is supported by training and mobilizing linguistic and cultural mediators…, Looking beyond health care, The initiative also promotes and supports multi-disciplinary approaches and teams to address the complex causes of health problems among refugee and migrant children – from trauma, anxiety and over-crowded conditions, to lack of hygiene facilities and immunization. As a result, support from the ‘RM Child-health’ initiative builds…

“This collaboration is helping to stimulate public demand for strong national health systems that work for everybody and that rise to new challenges, such as disease outbreaks.” Afshan Khan, UNICEF Regional Director, The ‘RM Child-Health’ initiative has supported work across five European countries to enhance and strengthen the capacity of national health systems to meet the health needs of refugee and migrant children. This work recognizes that a health system that works for such vulnerable children is a health system that works for every child., At first glance, helping a 10-year girl from Iran, now living in Bosnia and Herzegovina, get a new pair of glasses might seem a simple thing. For Maisa, however, this is the end result of a continuum of intensive support, from identifying a girl who struggles with an eye condition, to connecting her to a skilled ophthalmologist. And now Maisa…, Basic health care for all refugee and migrant children, Nothing builds trust and confidence in health care more than health services that are accessible, flexible and that work with – rather than against – the grain of people’s everyday lives. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, for example, the ‘RM Child-Health’ initiative supports efforts to ensure that every single refugee and migrant child in the country…, Building a solid foundation of knowledge for stronger health systems, The initiative also recognizes that strong health systems need to be built on a firm foundation of evidence and research. Activities since January 2020 have included ground-breaking research in Bulgaria on refugees’ experiences of health services in their countries of origin, and how this has shaped their expectations and uptake of health services…

The challenge, Refugee and migrant children – some travelling with their families, some alone – risk everything, even their own lives, in search of a better life. Millions of uprooted families flee their homes to escape conflict, persecution and poverty in countries including Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia and Sudan.  When children and young people feel that…, Resources, These resources on emergencies represent just a small selection of materials produced by UNICEF and its partners in the region. The list is regularly updated to include the latest information.  Refugee and Migrant Children in Europe in 2019 - Accompanied, Unaccompanied and Separated (2020) - UNHCR, UNICEF & IOM The Palermo Model of Volunteer…, The solution, A roadmap for care and protection, UNICEF has worked with its partners to develop a Roadmap that provides guidelines to improve the care and protection of refugee and migrant children, whether they are travelling alone or with their parents or caregivers.  The Roadmap highlights the need to identify children, register them through child-friendly procedures, and build a relationship…, Tackling the root causes, People have always migrated to flee from trouble or to find better opportunities. Today, more people are on the move than ever, trying to escape from climate change, poverty and conflict, and aided as never before by digital technologies. Children make up one-third of the world’s population, but almost half of the world’s refugees: nearly 50…