By Ibrahim Adamu
A Network of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) known as Child Protection Network (CPN) has paid an advocacy visit to the Bauchi State Ministry of Women Affairs and Child Development.
The Deputy National Coordinator of CPN Mrs. Beatrice Linus Dung said that the purpose of their visit to Bauchi State and the Ministry was to advocate for the domestication of Alternative Care for Children in Bauchi State.
She said the Ministry, being responsible for child development, is saddled with the responsibility of driving the Alternative Care for Children initiative and hence the need to immediately inaugurate the Technical Working Group (TWG) to fast track implementation of the initiative.
Receiving the National officers of CPN, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Mallam Saleh M. Mammud, who stood in for the Hon. Commissioner of the Ministry, Hajiya Zainab Baban Takko informed the team that there is an existing TWG that is yet to be inaugurated and that the TWG is being domiciled and chaired by the State Ministry of Justice.
The Permanent Secretary revealed that the composition of members of the TWG were drawn from the Women Affairs and Child Development Ministry , SUBEB, Primary Health Care, Ministry of Health, Social Welfare, Media, CSO, Security, Ministry of Justice, CPN, and Juvenile of Remand Home.
Resulting from the advocacy visit, a total of 20 members of the TWG were inaugurated and trained by the Deputy National Coordinator of CPN, Mrs. Beatrice Linus Dung.
During the training, Mrs. Dung spoke extensively on the Overview of the National Guidelines for Alternative Care of Children in Nigeria.
She talked about the aims and objectives of the guidelines, guiding principles, care options and categories of children who would need alternative care.
Mrs. Dung further spoke on alternative care in special situations, characteristics of kinship care/ fostering and guardianship, residential care and the almajiri in tsangaya system.
The newly inaugurated TWG were also taken through topics around Children in Conflict with the Law, Alternative Care in special situations, Promoting family, Tracing and Reintegration, and Operationalization of the Framework and Coordination Mechanisms and Systems.
In a closing remarks after the capacity building training, the permanent secretary of the Ministry of Women Affairs, Child Development and Social Welfare, Saleh M. Mammud thanked the Deputy National Coordinator of CPN Mrs. Beatrice Linus Dung for the capacity building, and promised the Ministry’s support and good working collaboration with CPN.
Also speaking, the Bauchi state CPN Coordinator, Ambassador Comfort Ene Attah appreciated the Deputy National Coordinator for the in-depth knowledge sharing that highlighted the best interest of the child, and called on partners to put heads together to ensure the Alternative Care for the Child document is implemented and also create awareness to communities on the existence of the document in the State.