By Hafsah Tilde
The Federal Government has commenced a comprehensive review of Nigeria’s child protection framework, including the 19-year-old National Child Policy and outstanding international child rights reports.
The exercise seeks to strengthen protections nationwide.
The review is taking place at the National Policy Forum on Women, Children and Families, organised by the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs in Abuja.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the forum targets improved services nationwide.
Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Mrs Esuabana Asanye, said the review demonstrated government’s commitment to protecting the rights and welfare of children, women and vulnerable groups across Nigeria.
According to her, the meeting is reviewing Nigeria’s Draft 5th–8th Combined Periodic Reports on the Rights of the Child and other strategic policy documents guiding child protection interventions nationwide.
“The documents before us for review and validation are of strategic importance,” Asanye said, noting that the process would help strengthen accountability, policy implementation and protection outcomes nationwide.
She said the exercise covered the 2007 National Child Policy, Child Protection and Child Well-being Index, adoption service guidelines and social service workforce assessments across the country.
Others include multidisciplinary service delivery models suited to the digital age and the Global Charter on Children’s Care Reform, aimed at strengthening care systems and family support.
Asanye said outcomes from the review would shape future interventions, strengthen protection mechanisms and improve welfare for vulnerable groups, while supporting evidence-based policymaking and implementation nationwide.
“The quality of our deliberations will determine the strength of the policies and reports that will ultimately guide national action,” she said.
She urged stakeholders to ensure the documents reflected realities across states and adequately address the needs, concerns and aspirations of children and families across Nigeria.
“Our participation is critical to ensuring that these documents reflect the experiences and priorities of all stakeholders,” she added, urging broad engagement throughout the review process.
Save the Children Country Director, Duncan Harvey, represented by Deputy Country Director Jane Mutua, described the review as timely, noting that many children still faced protection challenges.
According to her, children continue to experience violence, abuse, neglect, poverty, forced displacement and other forms of vulnerability in spite of existing legal and policy protection measures.
Mutua identified climate-related shocks, online exploitation and mental health concerns as emerging threats requiring stronger child protection responses and coordinated interventions from stakeholders at all levels.
“While we acknowledge the important progress made, the gap between policy promises and lived experience still remains too wide for many children,” Mutua said.
She emphasised that children should remain at the centre of all policies and programmes affecting their lives, with their views reflected in decisions impacting them.
“Children are not passive beneficiaries; they are rights holders and their voices should shape decisions that affect them,” she said, advocating meaningful participation in governance processes.
Mutua also called for increased investment in social workers and frontline responders, describing them as essential to building effective, responsive and sustainable child protection systems.
“There is no child protection system that can function effectively without trained and adequately resourced professionals,” she said, highlighting workforce development as a priority area.
Co-Chairman of the National Child Rights Implementation Committee, Dr Mac-John Nwobiala, said the exercise would help Nigeria clear outstanding obligations to international child rights bodies.
Nwobiala said inadequate funding and weak data management systems remained major obstacles to implementing child rights programmes effectively, limiting coordination, monitoring and evidence-based decision-making nationwide.
“We have challenges around funding and data management,” he said, stressing the need for stronger institutional support to improve implementation of child rights initiatives.
According to him, weak coordination among local, state and federal institutions has hindered the development of a robust child rights database across the country.
“The committee has no dedicated funding, and that continues to affect implementation, monitoring and coordination of child rights programmes,” he said.
He expressed optimism that the ongoing review would help Nigeria finalise and submit pending reports while strengthening accountability mechanisms and improving child rights governance nationwide.
National Director of SOS Children’s Villages Nigeria, Mr Erhumwunse Eghosa, represented by Mr Chijioke Nwakaudu, said the reforms would strengthen child protection and care systems.
“The measures will move Nigeria closer to creating an environment where children are protected, supported and given opportunities to thrive,” he said.
Nwakaudu commended the ministry for promoting family-based care and strengthening policies aimed at supporting vulnerable children through inclusive and sustainable social protection measures nationwide.
He described the Global Charter on Care Reform as an important commitment to ensuring every child grew up in a safe and nurturing family environment.
Mrs Amina Abdullahi-Sani, representing state commissioners for women affairs, urged stakeholders to participate actively in the validation process and contribute to strengthening policy outcomes.
She said the review’s outcome would shape policies affecting women, children and persons with disabilities, while enhancing protection, inclusion and access to services nationwide.
The five-day meeting brings together government officials, development partners, civil society organisations and child rights advocates to review policies guiding child protection interventions across Nigeria.(NAN) (www.nannews.ng)
Edited by Abiemwense Moru
