Zambian Government & World Vision develop child protection reporting systems to curb impact of COVID-19 on children in Northern Province

To ensure that the impact of COVID-19 on children is reduced in Northern Province, the Government of Zambia through its Ministry of Community Development and Social Services and World Vision have developed child protection referral pathways that will ensure that children have access to social welfare, social protection, justice and health services. These pathways also seek to ensure that children’s cases are handled in an appropriate, systematic and timely manner through coordinated, collaborative care during the COVID-19 period and beyond.

Child protection reporting systems for COVID-19 case management were developed at a meeting held in July 2020. Case management referral pathways will provide a harmonised and standardised systematic framework for the care and protection of children in need of care.

The reporting system will back provincial-level collaborative efforts aimed at ensuring that clearer and simpler child protection reporting systems are developed in order to efficiently and effectively manage cases of children in need of care. The case management meeting was attended by members of Kasama, Mungwi and Mporokoso Districts' child protection committee members, as well as provincial social welfare officers and NATWAMPANE (Prevent S&GBV Project) staff.

The developed referral pathways for Mporokoso, Kasama and Mungwi were presented and handed over to the Zambian Government by World Vision's Mwamba Cluster and Mporokoso Area Programme Manager, Mr. Charles Matowa Phiri.

During the handover of the documents, Mr Phiri, thanked the Government for being a strong partner in ensuring that children are protected amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic in the country and for coming up with national-level guiding documents that ensured that cases involving children in need of care are managed using standardised tools and procedures in an efficient and effective manner. 

While receiving the developed child protection referral pathways on behalf of Government, Kasama District Commissioner Mr. Kelly Kashiwa thanked World Vision for being an all weather child-focused organisation that the Government has continued to strongly partner with in the development arena.

 “I would like to state that World Vision has helped facilitate a process that the Government has recognised and recorded as a success in Northern Province” said Mr. Kashiwa. "The key milestone made today will help protect vulnerable children during the COVID-19 period and beyond."

Also present at the meeting , Senior Social Welfare Officer from provincial social welfare office, Tabitha Chilongo, added that over 10,000 children from Mungwi , Kasama and Mporokoso Districts were expected to benefit from services of the 25 participants who are now qualified child protection case managers. So far, three girls have been rescued from early marriages and child-related violations.

---

By Teddy Mofya-DF (CCESP) Mwamba Cluster