UNITED NATIONS - The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the UN Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) are joining forces to set up special support centers for children and their families along the most frequently used migration routes in Europe as part of a joint effort for better protection for the rising numbers of children and others with specific needs arriving in Europe, a UN spokesman said here Friday.
Twenty Child and Family Support Hubs, to be known as "Blue Dots, " will provide safe spaces for children and their families, where vital services such as counselling are available, UN spokesman StephaneDujarric said at a daily news briefing here.
"The hubs aim to support vulnerable families on the move, especially the many unaccompanied or separated children at risk of sickness, trauma, violence, exploitation and trafficking," the spokesman said.
The first hubs are now operational or about to open in Greece, Macedonia, Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia, he said. "All 20 will be operational within the next three months."
The hubs are established at a time when women and children account for two thirds of those crossing to Europe.  And last year,  more than 90,000 unaccompanied or separated children registered and applied for asylum or were in care in Europe.
The centers will also aim to identify and protect children and adolescents travelling alone, and reunite them with family wherever possible.(Xinhua)