A record number of refugee and migrant children are traveling solo to escape violence and poverty, falling prey to abuse and human traffickers in their journey to a new life, the United Nations children's agency said on Wednesday.
Be it to escape war in Syria or gang violence in Central America, natural disaster or famine, increasing numbers of children are on the move and are traveling alone, UNICEF said in a report.
About 200,000 unaccompanied children applied for asylum across 80 countries from 2015 to 2016 and another 100,000 children were stopped at the U.S.-Mexico border, UNICEF said.