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Of nearly 15 million migrants in Latin America, one in four is a child or adolescent—the highest proportion of migrant children and adolescents in the world. Children are highly vulnerable during the migration process, as they are exposed to violations of their personal integrity and deprivation of basic services such as food, health, and education. The situation is even more critical considering that, in 2023, 70 percent of migrant children were under the age of 11.
In recent months, the context has become more complex due to more restrictive migration measures and cuts in U.S. foreign assistance. The recent freeze of United States Agency for International Development (USAID) funds, which supported initiatives on migration governance through actions in health, education, and social protection aimed at mitigating the drivers of migration, could limit the capacity to respond to the needs of migrant children. In addition, deportation policies threaten to overwhelm assistance systems in countries of origin and transit.
In the face of a risky migration scenario that is unfavorable to the development and well-being of children in our region, the role of civil society in seeking concrete responses to child protection becomes more crucial than ever. In other words, civil society has the potential to become a true laboratory for social innovation, leveraging its capacity to build collaborative networks, generate consensus and shared solutions, and raise awareness about the urgency of prioritizing migrant children in national and regional agendas.
Civil society builds collaborative networks to exchange and coordinate resources and to provide comprehensive and efficient care. One example is the Vidas en Movimiento (VEM) program, an initiative of the Inter-American Dialogue and the Eugenio Mendoza Foundation, with the support of the FEMSA Foundation, which operates in Venezuela and Colombia. VEM uses a technological tool to collect data and information on children and their caregivers at key points along migration routes.
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