As part of our advocacy effort to help inform communities and decision-makers about children’s rights, we organized a 3-day workshop on Alternative care for children in collaboration with the Ministry of women affairs. A major objective of the workshop which was held in Sawalino Hotel, Keffi, Nasarawa state was the discussion of issues and practices around quality Alternative care, Child Care Reform, and Innovation for Children. Also, members were updated on the process of the development of the National Guidelines on Alternative Care for Children in Nigeria.

In attendance were representatives of the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs, Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, Federal Ministry of Justice, Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Federal Ministry of Humanitarian, Disaster Management and Social Development, Nigeria Police Force, National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking In Person (NAPTIP), Nigeria Immigration Service, SOS Children’s Villages, Joint National Association of Person with Disabilities, Association of Orphanages and Homes Owners, Plan International, and PEPLAT Consults, among others.

The workshop also featured conversations on- Children’s Rights in Africa, Understanding the Child Right Act, Progress and Challenges towards attainting child right in Nigeria, Understanding the UN Guidelines on AC, Locating AC within the Child Right Discourse, Fundamentals of policy development, AC policy gaps within existing National Frameworks, The Concept of Gatekeeping in AC care, Responding to the needs of children with disability in AC, and Child Protection/Safeguarding in AC for children in Nigeria.