The United Nations Children Emergency Fund in conjunction with the Ebonyi State Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development has organised a one-day training of Ebonyi State Child Protection Partners on Child Protection Data Management.
The engagement, held on Tuesday in Abakaliki, the Ebonyi State capital, was targeted at educating the Monitoring and Evaluation Officers of the various Child Protection Partners, including Civil Society Organisations, Community Based Organisations, Ministries, Departments and Agencies on the new Child Protection Management Reporting Tools.
Participants brought together under the umbrella of Ebonyi State Child Protection Network held discussions on Violence Against Children prevalence and response services updates; current state of coordination, collaboration and partnership; case management performance; as well as the way forward towards achieving greater success in child protection advocacy and prosecution, among other issues.
The major resource person at the event and the UNICEF Child Protection Specialist, Victor Atuchukwu, while taking participants through the meeting’s agenda and objectives, observed that emerging challenges in child rights protection, data generation and presentation has necessitated new innovations in reporting tools and information management system, requiring the knowledge of Child protection drivers, especially the Monitoring and Evaluation officers.
Speaking to our correspondent, the Programme Officer, UNICEF, Ebonyi State Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, Emmanuel Nkwuda, explained that Ebonyi is the only State in the South East where UNICEF’s spotlight activities was launched due to the high prevalence of violence against children and other vulnerable groups.
He added that the engagement would facilitate reporting unity among the various actors in child protection in the State in order to enhance performance and corporate goals achievement.
Nkwuda said: “This programme is put together to update our Child Protection Ministries, Departments and Agencies, Civil Society Organisations and Community based Organisations’ Monitoring and Evaluation Officers on the latest Child Protection Information Management Tool that actors uses to report cases of violence against children in the State.
“Ebonyi State is one of the States that the UNICEF is using on spotlight activity in the whole of the South East, and it is because of the level of violence that we are recording in the State that prompted this UNICEF intervention in that aspect.
“That is why we want to train the CSOs whom we have identified as partners to government to implement this programme so that everybody could be carried along and be at par with each other, so that at the end of the day, we will collectively achieve the goal expected of us as a Ministry in particular and the network in general.”
Meanwhile, the State Coordinator, Child Protection Network, Pastor Gabriel Odom, in an interview, identified community and family conspiracy as major problems hindering logical prosecution of perpetrators of violence and abuse against children.
He expressed optimism that the new tool provided by UNICEF for reporting incidences of abuses and violence against children would further enhance evidence-based reporting and prosecution.
Odom explained: “Some of the cases that have come before us within this period, the biggest problem is the conspiracy by some people at the community level and by families.
“They refuse to, number one, show themselves to the appropriate agency to offer their evidence, which will give further credibility to any matter being processed.
“Two, some family members also will know and acknowledge that a crime has been committed, but will tell you that they are not interested in prosecuting it.
“Some will even start the matter, but half way, they will not show up again.
“It could be they may have collected some money and compromised or that they are not interested again in the matter.
“Another one is that the community people will see a crime and they will insist that it is a community matter which they will settle within, even with glaring categories of violence and abuses meted against persons.
“All these and more frustrate moves to follow cases by prosecuting agencies to its prosecution end, which is the Court.”
Speaking further on the importance of the event, Odom maintained that the new Child Protection Information Management System and tools would enhance the performance of the Network in the State, and appreciated UNICEF and the State Ministry for the initiative.
He added: “The importance of data cannot be overemphasised because data is at the root of every meaningful reporting.
“If an activity is not reported, then that activity did not happen.
“Data makes the story you tell, as an advocate or NGO person, to have impact, touching somebody’s conscience to move into action.
“When these data reports are authenticated, the policy makers and those whose duty it is to act can have basis for intervention.
“For the CPN team members here, understanding how to record and process data for their reports makes it easier because they have been armed with the tools for their job.”
The Child Protection Network is an initiative of UNICEF implemented by the State Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development.
It is an umbrella of various NGOs, CSOs, government Agencies, departments, security agencies and other partners involved in the protection of children’s rights.
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