The Oyo State Government, in collaboration with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and Value Female Network Africa (VFN), has commenced the Gender Transformative Positive Parenting Programme 1.0 aimed at strengthening families and addressing child abuse, neglect, violence and other child protection concerns.

The training, held in Ibadan, is expected to pave the way for a 10-week structured parenting school programme across selected communities in the Ibarapa North East, Ibarapa South West, Egbeda, and Akinyele Local Government Areas of Oyo State.

About 800 parents and carers are expected to participate directly in the community-based sessions, where they will receive training on positive parenting, child development, parent-child communication, positive discipline, gender-equitable caregiving, positive fatherhood, adolescent supervision, and digital safety.

The programme will also address the prevention of sexual violence, female genital mutilation, child marriage, and other harmful practices, while promoting birth registration, community-based child protection structures, and awareness of referral pathways for children in need of protection.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, the Child Protection Specialist, UNICEF Lagos Field Office, Denis Onoise, said strengthening parents and carers was crucial to preventing violence against children and building a more effective child protection system.

“Parents and carers are the first protective environment around a child. Strengthening their knowledge and capacity means that risks can be recognised earlier, violence can be prevented, and children who require support can be connected to appropriate services. Positive parenting therefore goes beyond how we discipline children. It is an important part of building a stronger child protection system,” he said.

Onoise noted that the programme would also provide an opportunity to help families understand the interconnected nature of child protection concerns.

He urged the community facilitators to apply the knowledge acquired during the training to strengthen existing community-based child protection structures and improve awareness of referral pathways available to children facing risks.

Also speaking, the Executive Director of Value Female Network Africa, Dr Costly Aderibigbe-Saba, said the initiative was designed to strengthen the capacity of parents and carers to protect children while addressing harmful norms and practices in families and communities.

“Positive parenting is not simply about raising obedient children. It is about creating homes where children feel safe, heard, respected and supported to develop confidence and realise their potential. When children can communicate with their parents without fear and parents understand how to guide without violence, we begin to build stronger families and healthier communities,” she said.

Aderibigbe-Saba explained that the decision to incorporate broader child protection issues into the parenting curriculum was deliberate, stressing that children could be exposed to several risks simultaneously.

“A parent should understand positive discipline, but that same parent should also understand how to protect a child from sexual violence, female genital mutilation, child marriage and other harmful practices. Parents should understand the importance of birth registration, recognise when a child requires additional protection and know where to seek help. Positive parenting gives us an important platform to bring these issues together rather than addressing child protection in fragments,” she said.

She added that VFN was working with UNICEF and the Oyo State Government to ensure that lessons from the training translated into sustained conversations and behavioural changes within households and communities.

Speaking with journalists, the Director of Programmes, Value Female Network Africa, Samuel Abimbade, said the programme was designed in response to concerns surrounding child neglect, abuse, violence and the weakening of communication between some parents and their children.

According to him, effective parenting requires intentional care, attention, guidance and communication, particularly at a time when children are exposed to rapidly changing social influences.

Representing the Oyo State Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Inclusion, Mrs Adediran Oluwawemimo urged parents to develop closer, healthier and more trusting relationships with their children.

She said parents who remained approachable would be better positioned to understand the challenges confronting their children and provide appropriate guidance and support.

“When children know they can come to you and freely discuss what they are going through, you are better able to nurture, guide, correct and support them,” she said.

The Head of Operations, State Operations Coordinating Unit, Omotola Adelugba, described the initiative as timely, particularly against the backdrop of the increasing exposure of children to influences beyond the home.

She emphasised the importance of stronger relationships between parents and children, adding that the community-based approach would help extend the impact of the programme beyond the initial participants.

Speaking on behalf of the participants at the training, Ismael Olaitan said the training had helped him understand the importance of listening to children and creating an environment where they could express themselves freely.

He noted that the lessons had also encouraged him to reconsider some traditional approaches to discipline.