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Children on the move
As of January 2016, an estimated 30 million children are on the move, both within and between countries, with or without their parents. They are part of large-scale population movements currently taking place in many parts of the world.
Children on the move are those children moving for a variety of reasons, voluntary or involuntary within or between countries, with or without their parents or other primary caregivers, and whose movement might place them at risk (or at an increased risk) of inadequate care, economic or sexual exploitation, abuse, neglect or violence.
Children on the move is an umbrella term that brings together a series of categories of children to highlight their common protection needs, including, children who have been trafficked, children who migrate (e.g. to pursue better life opportunities, to look for work or education or to escape exploitative or abusive situations at home, or because of other protection needs), children displaced by conflict and natural disasters and children who live and work in the streets.
Movement can help children and their families improve their living standards and life opportunities. However, children do not always benefit from such potentials. Child protection policies and interventions should refocus to place the protection of the child at the centre as well as the need to support the positive aspects of mobility.
Save the Children’s goal is that all children, including those on the move and in emergencies, have appropriate care either from their own families or community-based alternatives.
Photo: Pedro Armestre/Save the Children
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Uprooted: The growing crisis for refugee and migrant children
Produced by Unicef, this comprehensive report presents a global data set on migrating and displaced children in today’s world: where they are born, where they move, and some of the dangers they face along the way. Children on the move are at risk of some
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Broken Dreams: Central American children's dangerous journey to the United States
Broken Dreams: Central American children's dangerous journey to the United States shares the obstacles and dangers that children and adolescents face as they journey to the United States. UNICEF reports that in the first six months of 2016, almost 26,000
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I Play, I Learn and I'm Safe: Project brief
I Play, I Learn and I’m Safe is a Save the Children programme for preventing unsafe migration of children in Ethiopia and Bangladesh by promoting protection, education and play for children on the move. This one-pager briefly presents the programme proces
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Children on the Move in Europe: Save the Children's response to the deepening refugee and migrant crisis in Europe
This website provides regularly updated information on Save the Children’s response to the child refugee and migrant crisis in Europe. Find out where and how Save the Children is working to protect children as they move through Europe and as they live in
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The Journey of Refugee and Asylum-Seeking Children Across the Andaman Sea
This report reviews the maritime movements of refugees and migrants across South East Asia, focusing on refugee and asylum-seeking children and their experiences in countries of origin, transit and destination. This journey typically begins in Myanmar and
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Children on the Move: Honduras
Save the Children partners with the Government (DINAF), Municipal and Civil Society Institutions, to build their personnel’s capacity on the Integral Attention for Children and Adolescents, especially the Migrant Population. Save the Children also coordin
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This is Who We Are: A study of the profile, experiences and reasons for flight of unaccompanied and separated children from Afghanistan seeking asylum in Sweden in 2015
Written in collaboration with the Swedish Migration Agency, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) profiled over 240 unaccompanied and separated children, focusing on Afghan children, arriving in Sweden in order to begin addressing the information
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Putting Children at the Forefront: Save the Children's recommendations for a child-centred EU agenda on migration
Based on experience from work on the ground, Save the Children has identified a number of key issues that urgently need to be addressed by the EU and its Member States to ensure better management of mixed migration flows for children and their families. A
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Hear it From the Children- on the move and arriving in Norway
This study documents the experiences and views of children who have fled their country and are seeking asylum in Norway. Through talking and listening to children on the move, the Hear it from the Children initiative brings forward children’s unique persp
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Children on the Move: An urgent human rights and child protection priority
Migrating children is not a new phenomenon: children have fled their homes for centuries to reach safe havens away from poverty, conflict, and disaster. With increased globalization, escalated global warming, and transitioning economies, we are likely to
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Niños, Niñas y Adolescentes Migrantes Retornados. Un análisis de los contextos y las respuestas de los servicios y las políticas de protección en El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras y México
This rapid assessment aims to address the lack of information on policies and services of government agencies and non-governmental organizations responsible for protecting the rights of child and adolescent migrants returning to their countries of origin
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Mental Health and Psychosocial Support for Refugees, Asylum Seekers and Migrants on the Move in Europe: A multi-agency guidance note
An unprecedented number of individuals and families, including increasing numbers of children, have crossed the Mediterranean and Aegean seas in an attempt to reach safety and security in Europe. This guidance note, prepared my multiple agencies, provides