The Zamfara government has graduated and certified 710 auxiliary social workers to significantly strengthen child protection and community resilience in the state.

The government also unveiled the Family Court Rules and Alternative Care Guidelines for Children as part of efforts to enhance community-based protection mechanisms, according to a statement by the Ministry for Women Affairs and Social Development, on Friday.

The commissioner, A’isha Anka, said this during the graduation and certification ceremony of 710 auxiliary social workers.

Ms Anka described the initiatives as steps toward strengthening community-based protection mechanisms and improving access to essential social welfare services for women, children and other vulnerable groups across the state.

She commended Governor Dauda Lawal for rebuilding the state’s social service system, particularly through settling outstanding counterpart funding obligations, which helped restore collaboration with development partners, including UNICEF and UNFPA.

According to her, the renewed partnerships have created opportunities to improve interventions for the benefit of the people, especially women and vulnerable children.

The commissioner noted that the government’s improvement of the ministry’s working environment, alongside the recruitment and training of the auxiliary social workers, reflected its commitment to strengthening institutional capacity and enhancing service delivery.

Ms Anka charged the newly certified auxiliary social workers to discharge their duties with honesty, empathy, confidentiality and professionalism, stressing that their role was critical in identifying, protecting and supporting vulnerable persons and facilitating referrals at the grassroots.

The permanent secretary, Nasiru Galadima, reaffirmed the ministry’s commitment to working in line with Mr Lawal’s rescue mission in delivering services to the people of the state.

“This administration is supporting initiatives designed by the ministry with full financial support to meet the needs of our communities,” Mr Galadima said.

The ASW state coordinator and director of child protection and development, Farida Abdulrazak, said auxiliary social workers play a critical role in social services by identifying cases related to child abuse and establishing referral mechanisms.

“We are professionally trained in identifying cases of child abuse, neglect and exploitation, but we are adopting preventive methods to ensure that these do not happen through community sensitisation campaigns across our communities and public places,” she said.

(NAN)