The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has expressed concern over the complete absence of a child protection database in Benue State, warning that the lack of data poses a serious challenge to addressing child rights violations.
UNICEF’s Child Protection Specialist, Enugu Field Office, Mr. Victor Atuchukwu, made this known on Wednesday during the opening session of a three-day Step-Down Training on Harmonized Child Protection Management (HCPM+) Tools held in Makurdi.
Atuchukwu lamented that there was currently no coordinated system or platform to record and manage reports of child abuse and other protection cases in the state, noting a wide gap between the number of children in need of help and those actually receiving support.
“There is virtually no management system in place to record child protection cases in Benue. Whatever is done without being documented or reported means it doesn’t exist in the system,” he said.
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He stressed the need for the state government to establish a functional reporting platform, emphasizing that proper data collection is crucial to designing effective interventions and ensuring accountability.
“We are deeply concerned about this development. That is why UNICEF is supporting this training, to ensure that child protection actors in the state have the skills to input and manage data through the Child Information Management System,” Atuchukwu explained.
He said the training, involving 35 case workers drawn from the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Welfare, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), and other agencies, would be cascaded to their respective organizations to build wider capacity.
“Participants will be taught the meaning and principles of child protection, case management processes, and the right procedures to follow in handling cases. Having reliable data will help us know the types of child protection issues prevalent in the state and which agencies should intervene,” he added.
Also speaking, UNICEF Desk Officer at the Benue State Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Welfare, Mr. Fidelis Alumunku, confirmed the absence of accurate child protection data in the state, saying no one could give a definite figure of reported cases.
“There are many child protection cases, including rape and physical abuse but they are rarely reported. We don’t have any record to show the extent of these issues,” Alumunku stated.
He added that UNICEF, in collaboration with the ministry, has begun training community-based child protection structures within internally displaced persons (IDP) camps to improve case reporting.
“So far, over 200 child protection structures have been trained in camps located at the International Market, Ichwa, Gbamjigba 1 and 2, and Daudu 1 and 2 in Guma Local Government Area,” he noted.
UNICEF said the ongoing training is expected to mark a turning point in building a reliable and responsive child protection data system for Benue State.
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