CHILD PROTECTION NETWORK NIGERIA (CPN) COMMEMORATES 2026 WORLD SOCIAL WORK DAY

Child Protection Network Nigeria joins the rest of the world to commemorate World Social Work Day, a day set aside globally to recognize the invaluable contributions of social workers to humanity and sustainable development.

This year’s theme, “Co-Building Hope and Harmony: A Harambee Call to Unite a Divided Society,” speaks directly to the realities of our world today and strongly aligns with our mission in child protection. The word Harambee, meaning all pull together, reminds us that meaningful social progress can only happen when communities unite, institutions collaborate, and citizens accept collective responsibility for protecting the vulnerable among us, especially children.

Today, our societies face many divisions—economic inequalities, social exclusion, cultural misunderstandings, violence, displacement, family breakdown, and rising threats against children. These divisions often create environments where children become the most affected victims. In many communities, children continue to suffer abuse, neglect, exploitation, trafficking, harmful traditional practices, emotional violence, and denial of opportunities simply because systems meant to protect them are weak or disconnected.

At Child Protection Network Nigeria, we strongly believe that child protection cannot succeed in isolation. Protecting children requires building bridges across every divide—between government and communities, between professionals and families, between urban and rural populations, between different religions, ethnic groups, and social classes. This is exactly what this year’s theme calls us to do: to co-build hope by strengthening shared responsibility and creating harmony through coordinated action.

Across Nigeria, Child Protection Network continues to bring together people from different backgrounds under one common purpose: ensuring that every child lives in dignity, safety, and protection. Our membership structure itself reflects inclusion—we unite social workers, teachers, law enforcement officers, healthcare workers, religious leaders, community leaders, legal practitioners, media professionals, humanitarian actors, and child rights advocates.

This collaboration is not merely organizational—it is transformational.

In communities where distrust once existed, child protection platforms are now creating dialogue. In places where silence once surrounded abuse, awareness campaigns are encouraging reporting and response. In areas where families once struggled alone, coordinated referral systems now provide support.

Through our state chapters and local structures, we have seen how bringing people together reduces harmful divides and creates stronger social bonds for children’s safety.

When a child faces violence, the response should never depend on tribe, religion, language, gender, or economic class. A child in distress speaks one universal language—the language of vulnerability—and demands one universal response—the language of protection.

This is why Child Protection Network Nigeria continues to strengthen partnerships across sectors, because child protection is everybody’s business.

- We are working closely with schools to improve safeguarding systems.

- We engage parents to strengthen positive parenting practices.

- We collaborate with security agencies to improve response to child abuse cases.

- We partner with health institutions to support abused children physically and psychologically.

- We work with traditional and religious institutions to challenge harmful practices and promote child dignity.

These efforts are gradually healing divisions and replacing fear with hope.

But while we celebrate progress, today also demands that we honour a professional group whose contributions often go unnoticed—our child social workers.

To every child social worker across Nigeria, today we say thank you.

- You are among the quiet builders of hope in our society.

- You stand where pain is deepest.

- You enter homes where abuse has left scars.

- You sit with children whose voices have been silenced by trauma.

- You advocate where systems have failed.

- You intervene where neglect has threatened futures.

- You restore dignity where exploitation has caused damage.

Many times, your work happens quietly, without applause, without cameras, and often under difficult circumstances. Yet your impact changes lives permanently.

- A child removed from abuse and placed in safety carries your intervention into adulthood.

- A traumatized child who smiles again often smiles because a social worker listened.

- A neglected child who returns to school often does so because a social worker refused to give up.

- A family restored from crisis often reflects the patience and professional commitment of a social worker.

Social workers do not merely solve problems; they rebuild lives.

In many cases, they become the first safe adult a vulnerable child can trust.

They provide emotional support, psychosocial care, case management, crisis intervention, family mediation, and long-term rehabilitation pathways that give children another chance.

- Where others may see statistics, social workers see human stories.

- Where others may see difficult cases, social workers see possibilities.

- Where society sometimes looks away, social workers move closer.

This is why their role remains central to national child protection efforts.

At this juncture, I want to use this opportunity to appreciate the ongoing efforts of Federal Ministry of Women of Women Affairs and UNICEF Nigeria for the building capacities of community actors as para-social workers thereby serving as frontline responders to child abuse cases in their communities.

At Child Protection Network Nigeria, we remain committed to strengthening the capacity of social workers through training, inter-agency coordination, knowledge sharing, and advocacy for improved child protection systems.

We believe that stronger social work structures directly translate into safer childhoods.

The call of this year’s theme challenges all of us to move beyond professional boundaries and embrace collective responsibility.

Government cannot do it alone.

Civil society cannot do it alone.

Families cannot do it alone.

Communities cannot do it alone.

Social workers cannot do it alone.

We must all pull together—Harambee.

We must unite across differences to build communities where children feel safe, heard, protected, and valued.

We must build systems where no child is invisible.

We must create harmony where violence once existed.

We must replace division with cooperation.

We must replace silence with action.

We must replace indifference with compassion.

And above all, we must never forget that every protected child represents hope for a stronger Nigeria.

The future of any society is measured not by the wealth of a few, but by the safety and wellbeing of its children.

Therefore, as we mark today, let us renew our commitment that no child will be left behind because of social division, poverty, conflict, discrimination, or neglect.

Let us strengthen our partnerships.

Let us deepen our compassion.

Let us defend child dignity.

Let us honour our social workers not only in words but through action.

And let us continue co-building hope and harmony for every Nigerian child.

On behalf of Child Protection Network Nigeria, I salute every social worker, every child protection actor, and every institution contributing to safer childhoods in Nigeria.

Together, we can build a nation where every child is protected, every voice matters, and every future is possible.

Thank you very much.

Olakunle Sanni

National Coordinator,

Child Protection Network Nigeria