WorldStage– The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has urged state governments to strengthen child protection systems through increased funding, improved coordination and deployment of qualified social workers to safeguard vulnerable children nationwide.
Mona Aika, Officer-in-Charge, Child Protection, UNICEF Nigeria, made the call on Monday in Abuja at the National Policy Forum on Women, Children and Families attended by stakeholders nationwide.
The forum brought together commissioners of women affairs and social development, directors of child development and other stakeholders to discuss strategies for strengthening child protection systems across Nigeria.
Aika said child protection involved preventing and responding to violence, abuse, neglect, exploitation and harmful practices, including child marriage and female genital mutilation, affecting millions of children nationwide.
She emphasised the need to move beyond short-term interventions towards sustainable government-led systems capable of protecting children effectively and responding promptly to violations of their rights.
According to her, a functional child protection system requires strong legal and policy frameworks, effective governance, quality services, workforce development, community engagement, and reliable monitoring structures nationwide.
“Child protection cannot function in isolation. It requires collaboration among sectors such as health, education, nutrition, social protection and justice because children face multiple vulnerabilities,” she said.
Aika said UNICEF was supporting federal and state ministries responsible for social development to strengthen child protection systems, focusing on sustainability rather than implementing isolated, stand-alone interventions.
She emphasised the role of professional and auxiliary social workers, alongside community-based protection structures, in identifying child protection concerns and ensuring timely responses to reported violations.
According to her, sustainable child protection requires adequate financial and human resources, noting that long-term success depends on government commitment to funding and supporting essential services.
“Without a budget, it will be difficult to succeed. Development partners and civil society organisations can provide support, but sustainable child protection requires government ownership and financing,” she said.
Aika urged states to allocate dedicated resources for child protection programmes and consider incentives for auxiliary social workers operating within communities to strengthen frontline protection services.
Highlighting the challenge, she said about 19.9 million women and girls in Nigeria had survived female genital mutilation, while an estimated 23.7 million girls married before age 18.
She also expressed concern over low birth registration rates and the number of children deprived of liberty, noting many were detained for minor offences alongside adults.
Aika said stronger child protection systems were especially critical in humanitarian settings, including conflict-affected communities in the North-East, where children face heightened risks and vulnerabilities.
She said that Nigeria’s handover protocol for children affected by armed conflict, endorsed in 2022, required security agencies to transfer affected children to welfare authorities promptly.
According to her, children associated with armed groups should be treated primarily as victims and provided with rehabilitation, reintegration and family reunification support to aid recovery.
Aika said that about 4.9 million children would require humanitarian assistance in 2025, underscoring the urgent need for stronger state-led child protection systems across Nigeria.
She said UNICEF’s Child Protection Strategic Framework, running until 2027, sought to ensure all children had legal identity and protection from violence, abuse and exploitation.
The framework, she added, aimed to improve access to preventive and gender-responsive services while strengthening support systems for parents, caregivers and communities across the country.
Also speaking, Jane Mutua of Save the Children International in Nigeria commended the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development for advancing reforms to improve child welfare.
She said that children across Nigeria still faced violence, abuse, poverty, displacement, climate-related shocks and online risks, in spite of progress made in promoting and protecting child rights.
While acknowledging improvements in child rights protection, Mutua said a significant gap remained between policy commitments and the realities experienced by many children nationwide.
She emphasised that state governments played a crucial role in translating national policies into meaningful outcomes and ensuring children benefited from effective protection and welfare programmes.
Mutua urged governments to prioritise children in policymaking, strengthen the social service workforce, promote family-based care and adopt evidence-driven approaches to child protection interventions nationwide.
She also called for coordinated responses to emerging threats such as online exploitation, climate-induced displacement and mental health challenges affecting children and families across communities.
Mutua advocated increased investment in child protection and social welfare services, emphasising that progress should be measured by improvements in children’s lives rather than policies alone.
Aika, in her closing remarks, urged governments at all levels to continue advocating for child rights and prioritising investments that ensured safe, supportive environments for children.
