The number of child migrants crossing the perilous Darién Gap has surged by 40 per cent so far this year, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reported on Wednesday, putting the route on track for a fifth consecutive year of record child migration levels.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the UN refugee agency (UNHCR), on Thursday, called for urgent action to address the deepening humanitarian emergency in the Americas, as the number of migrants and refugees traversing the perilous Darién jungle crossed an unprecedented half a million this year.
A rising number of migrants are attempting the dangerous journey across the Darién jungle spanning the Colombia-Panama border. For Etzaida Rios, 35, the impact of providing hope and help runs deep.
An unprecedented number of migrants and refugees continue to cross the dense tropical jungle between Colombia and Panama known as the Darien Gap, risking their lives and facing horrific human rights abuses, the UN rights office (OHCHR) said on Tuesday.
Record numbers of migrants are crossing the Darién jungle in Latin America in a desperate and perilous journey, including from as far off as Nepal and Afghanistan, UN agencies said on Wednesday, highlighting the urgency of finding safe and regular pathways.
The Darién Gap, a dangerous route that links South and North America, has long been used by migrants trekking north to the United States, in search of a better life, or simply fleeing violence at home. As well as extreme physical challenges, they also risk attacks from smugglers, and other criminal groups.
Women continue to be “more vulnerable” to the impacts of disaster, but in some countries its men who are more of a concern.
That was one of the surprising perspectives to emerge from a discussion on the empowerment of women and girls, which took place at the recent Fifth Regional Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction in the Americas, in Canada.
Hundreds of thousands of children are missing out on their education in the Americas because of the increasing number of natural and man-made disasters in the region.
That’s according to the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
In 2015 there were 93 major recorded disasters there, with more following this year.
An earthquake in Ecuador almost two months ago left some 120,000 children unable to attend school and recent floods in Paraguay also meant some children missed out on classes.
Panama has made huge strides in reducing hunger, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reports.
The Central American nation has seen its hunger level drop from more than 26 per cent in the 1990s to less than 10 per cent today.
But the UN agency says gaps still exist in making sure indigenous people there have enough to eat.
Rocio Franco recently travelled to the north of the country where FAO is helping the indigenous Guna community to stamp out hunger.
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