UNICEF, ILO Begin Two-Day Capacity Building Workshop for Policy Makers

By Chinedu Echianu

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the International Labour Organisation (ILO) have commenced a two-day training workshop for policy makers aimed at strengthening their capacity to design and implement effective social protection initiatives in Nigeria.

The training, titled: Transform Leadership and Capacity Building Programme, is part of the Supporting Sustainable Social Protection Systems in Nigeria (SUSI) Project, which is funded by the European Union (EU).
The programme, currently taking place in Abuja, seeks to enhance Nigeria’s social protection systems to ensure wider coverage and improved support for vulnerable groups across the country.

Speaking at the sidelines of the opening ceremony, ILO Country Director, Vanessa Phala, explained that policy makers were specifically targeted to help them better understand how to effectively implement social protection schemes, especially at the state level.

Similarly, Felix Mwenge, Technical Officer in the ILO’s Social Protection Unit, provided further insight into the training modules, noting that the sessions are designed to equip participants with practical tools to strengthen policy formulation and programme delivery.

On his part, Emmanuel Danjuma, Project Manager of the SUSI Programme, outlined the main objectives of the initiative, emphasizing its focus on building sustainable systems that promote inclusion, accountability, and efficiency in social protection delivery.

Social protection programmes in Nigeria have often been hindered by issues of corruption and mismanagement. It is therefore expected that this capacity-building exercise will support the development of frameworks to address such challenges and improve transparency in the sector.