UN children's agency UNICEF on Tuesday said it would scale up operations in Greece to support 22,000 migrant children, a tenth of them unaccompanied. The decision was announced after singer Nana Mouskouri, a UNICEF goodwill ambassador, visited migrant facilities last week. "UNICEF is adjusting its strategy in support of the response by the authorities and civil society in Greece, where the humanitarian and longer-term needs of more than 22,000 children are growing." the organisation said.
In partnership with local aid groups Faros and Solidarity Now, UNICEF currently supports a drop-in centre for refugee and migrant women and children in Athens and a mobile child protection unit in the port of Piraeus. Marie-Pierre Poirier, UNICEF's special Coordinator for the refugee crisis in Europe, said the organisation would support programmes by the Greek government and other partners.