Bulgaria launches project for care of unaccompanied migrant children

The State Agency for Refugees is launching a pilot project for the country and the EU. Alternative social services for unaccompanied refugee children are being created, the government's press service has reported.

The municipalities of Burgas, Ivaylovgrad, Malko Tarnovo, Tundzha and the UNICEF Mission are partners in the project. "Bulgaria ranks 4th in terms of the number of unaccompanied refugee children in the EU. They arrive without a parent or legal guardian, often in a serious emotional and physical condition. Sometimes urgent action is required for admission to hospital," said the chairman of the agency, Ivan Ivanov.

"It is good that Bulgaria can become a pioneer in these good practices, to set a model and an impactful example," the head of the European Commission representation in Sofia, Yordanka Chobanova, said at the presentation of the project "Creating alternative social services for unaccompanied refugee children in Bulgaria."