Multidisciplinary organisations working with unaccompanied asylum seeking young people must improve training, coordination, and support to ensure that none are left behind, write Susanna Corona Maioli and colleagues
Unaccompanied asylum seeking children are young people aged under 18, separated from their legal guardians, who are seeking asylum in the UK after displacement. Asylum seeking young people aged 18-25 also continue to be a vulnerable group. As of September 2022, the UK received more than 5000 asylum applications for unaccompanied children.1 Most came from Sudan, Albania, Eritrea, Afghanistan, and Syria, but demographics fluctuate depending on migration politics and global dynamics.
Unaccompanied asylum seeking children are rendered vulnerable by their unaccompanied status and the traumatic experiences of a forced migratory journey, with health consequences such as depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, infections, and nutritional deficiencies.2 The Home Offic