Abia Strengthens Child Protection Framework as Ministry, SOS Children’s Village Advance Alternative Care Guidelines

The Abia State Ministry of Women Affairs, in collaboration with the S. O. S. Children’s Village, has organised a two-day stakeholder engagement on the development and adoption of Abia State Alternative Care Guidelines.

The engagement focused on strengthening child protection systems and ensuring that children who have lost parental care or are at risk of losing parental care receive appropriate care and protection.

Delivering her Keynote Address, the Commissioner, Ministry of Women Affairs, Dr Maureen Aghukwa, through the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Mrs Ogechi Oguama, stated that Abia State has strengthened its child protection framework.

According to her, in September 2025, stakeholders endorsed the domestication and validation of the Abia State Guidelines for Alternative Care of Children, marking an important milestone in the collective efforts to establish clear standards and improve the way children without parental care are supported and protected.

She added that child protection is a shared responsibility for all stakeholders and that children should not be separated from their families except where it becomes necessary.
She called for the strengthening of the inter-ministerial committee to build integration pathways that will monitor children in alternative care.

Speaking, the Senior Program Officer, S.O.S. Children’s Villages, Nandi Emmanuel Dakum, x-rayed the functions of the SOS Children’s Village, the necessity for Alternative Care and emphasised the need for children to be cared for in their biological families or among their kins.
She added that poverty should not be a reason why children should be placed under alternative care.

Participants at the engagement were drawn from the traditional institution, Child Protection Network, Association of Non-governmental Organisations (ANON), Local Government Social Welfare Department, Human Rights Commission, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health, Association of Orphanages & Homes Operators in Nigeria, Ministry of Women Affairs, Faith-based organisations, the Academia, Religious leaders, SOS Children’s Village and the media.