One out of four children in Bulgaria grows up without one or both parents who work abroad, Ombudsman Diana Kovacheva said. At the forum “Children left behind: between labour migration, institutional standards and extended family”, organized under the ROMACT Program of the European Commission and the Council of Europe, she pointed out that among the Roma, the share reaches 40% of children.

The problem is most severe in the poorest regions of the country - Vidin, Montana, Pleven, Vratsa, Lovech, Silistra, Kyustendil, Targovishte, Razgrad, Yambol and Haskovo. The exact number of "viber kids" who communicate with their parents only digitally is not known. Measures and effective institutional policies have not been planned for them and this would have future consequences, the ombudsman warned.