Wednesday, June 3, 2026

The Sun Nigeria

Benue, UNICEF strengthen collaboration on child protection

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Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Welfare in Benue State, Mrs Theresa Ikwue

From Scholastica Hir, Makurdi

Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Welfare in Benue State, Mrs Theresa Ikwue has expressed the state government’s commitment to collaborate with United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to build capacity and develop community based child protection structures to strengthen child protection across the state.

He stated this when she received UNICEF Representative who visited her yesterday.

Ikwue said as a child protection advocate, she was open to more engagement with UNICEF and assured the representative of the ministry’s continued support with deployment of more staff for the success of the intervention.

She commended UNICEF for the training of auxiliary social workers, who will work at the community level providing child protection services in the state and promised a review of the child protection action plan in the state for effective implementation.

The UNICEF Representative who is also the Child Protection Officer, UNICEF Enugu field office, Mr Victor Atuchukwu said UNICEF had commenced the training of auxiliary social workers in three local governments of Makurdi Guma and Gwer West.

He said the training, which will be certified by Akawe Torkula Polytechnic, Makurdi, will equip the auxiliary social workers with capacity to deliver child protection services in the rural areas of the state.

Atuchukwu requested for more staff of the ministry to be deployed to the UNICEF desk to work on planning, implementation and accomplishing the intervention programme in the state.

He commended the state government for its support towards the success of the programme and the leadership of Akawe Torkula Polytechnic for provision of resource persons and certificates.