US offers aid for unaccompanied minors, pandemic

The US government will provide 2.9 million dollars in financial assistance to Greece to improve the living conditions of unaccompanied minors and support the islands against the Covid-19 pandemic, it was announced by Alternate Minister for Citizens’ Protection Giorgos Koumoutsakos and US Ambassador Geoffrey Pyatt following a meeting on Thursday.

The aid will be offered through the UNHCR and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM).

Pratt said the assistance is “in support of their activities in Greece in recognition of the burdens that the Greek State is carrying on the migration issue, and also the exceptional challenges created by the coronavirus pandemic and the need for all of us to work together.”

The ambassador commended the minister for the progress that has been made recently in resettlement, particularly for unaccompanied minors to other EU member-states, adding that the United States recognizes that Greece “is carrying a burden on behalf of the wider international community and deserves all the support that we can manage.”