Action-Aid Nigeria, in collaboration with the Catholic Relief Services (CRS), has concluded a three-day workshop for 67 participants aimed at ending violence against children in Kogi State under its Sustainable Mechanism for Improving Livelihoods and Household Empowerment (SMILE) project.
Speaking at the end of the workshop in Lokoja yesterday, Kogi State Coordinator of SMILE, Kehinde Arowosegbe, said the workshop was to build the capacity of the participants to be able to develop strategic response plan and actions to end violence against children.
He said participants at the workshop were drawn from civil society organisations, traditional institutions, the media, the police, faith-based organisations as well as government ministries, departments and agencies in Kogi State.
Arowosegbe said the project is also designed to scale-up care and support services for orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) in Benue, Kogi, Edo, and Nasarawa states and the FCT
Kogi State Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, Mrs Bolanle Amupitan commended the various partners in the SMILE project for supporting the state to develop and launch its own response plan to end violence against children.