Jonathan Eze
The Federal Government has announced a comprehensive review of the Child Rights Act and the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act as part of sweeping reforms aimed at strengthening the protection of women, children, families and vulnerable groups across the country.
The Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, disclosed this during the week at the closing ceremony of the National Review and Validation Meeting of Nigeria’s Periodic Reports to the United Nations and Strategic Policy Documents in Abuja.
According to the minister, the Child Rights Act, which has been domesticated in all 36 states, and the VAPP Act, adopted in 35 states, are undergoing legislative reviews to address emerging technological realities, global trends and new forms of vulnerability affecting women and children.
She said the reforms formed part of a broader institutional overhaul undertaken by the ministry after a diagnostic review revealed weak implementation systems, outdated policy frameworks, fragmented coordination among agencies and the absence of standard operating procedures for frontline services.
Sulaiman-Ibrahim said the ministry had successfully reviewed, developed and validated more than 40 policy instruments and operational guidelines designed to improve protection, social inclusion and economic empowerment nationwide.
Among the new policy frameworks are the National Boy Child Policy, the Revised National Children Policy, the National Family Policy, the National Care Economy Policy, the National Adoption Policy and the National Policy on the Management of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence and Sexual Assault Referral Centres.
Others include the National Policy on the Management of Crèches and Daycare Centres, the National Policy on the Management of Orphanages and new safeguarding guidelines for chaperones accompanying children and vulnerable persons.
The minister said the reforms would provide the legal and policy foundation for the implementation of the Renewed Hope Social Impact Intervention programme across the country’s 774 local government areas.
She explained that the initiative, built around a nine-pillar framework, focuses on economic inclusion, digital literacy, financial empowerment, social protection, climate gender justice, child development and institutional reforms.
“The true measure of national progress is not only economic growth but the lives we improve and the protection we provide for women, children, families and vulnerable citizens,” she said.
The minister also announced the successful validation of Nigeria’s Combined Fifth to Eighth Periodic Reports to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child, describing it as a major step in restoring the country’s compliance with international reporting obligations.
She noted that the submission would strengthen Nigeria’s standing in the international community and reaffirm its commitment to global and regional human rights frameworks, including the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women.
Sulaiman-Ibrahim further revealed that the government had developed guidelines for the reactivation and strengthening of Women Development Centres in all 774 local government areas to enhance service delivery and grassroots empowerment.
She added that the ministry had established accountability and oversight mechanisms for implementation at the federal, state and local government levels.
The minister stressed the need for a professional and specialised social sector workforce to drive the reforms, urging civil servants and practitioners to take advantage of training opportunities under the Sustainable Procurement, Environmental and Social Standards Enhancement Project supported by the World Bank.
She also said the policy reforms would support the expansion of the Nigeria for Women Programme Scale-Up through women affinity groups, financial literacy initiatives, digital inclusion and rural economic empowerment programmes.
While celebrating the policy milestones, the minister expressed concern over the impact of insecurity on families across the country and reaffirmed the government’s commitment to protecting children from violence, exploitation and neglect.
She urged state commissioners, development partners and other stakeholders to move beyond policy validation and focus on implementation, saying the success of the reforms would ultimately be measured by improvements in the lives of ordinary Nigerians