The federal and state governments have been urged to strengthen child protection systems by implementing the National Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children in Nigeria, ensuring children grow up in safe, loving, and conducive family environments.

The National Director of SOS Children’s Villages Nigeria, Eghosa Erhumwunse, who made the call at the National Alternative Care Consultative Forum, said alternative care reform should focus not only on moving children out of residential institutions but also on preventing unnecessary family separation.

The forum was convened under the Strengthening Child Care and Protection Systems in Nigeria project, funded by the European Union and implemented by SOS Children’s Villages Nigeria in partnership with the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) and Jireh Doo Foundation (JDF).

The National Director said the forum aimed to consolidate lessons from states that had taken steps toward implementing alternative care standards, identify gaps affecting implementation, and secure commitments from states to adopt, domesticate, and implement the National Guidelines and their Implementation Strategy.

He said Nigeria had made progress in establishing legal and policy frameworks for child protection through the Child Rights Act and the National Guidelines, which provide that children should grow up in families wherever it is safe and possible, while residential care should be used only as a last resort and for the shortest possible time.

According to him, five states had formally adopted the National Guidelines into state-level practice by the end of 2025. He, however, said the progress had exposed the scale of work required to ensure effective implementation of alternative care policies across the country.