Keeping Children Safe So They Can Learn: Inside EFECT's Child Protection Work in Nigeria

A Q&A with Jessica Adams Protection Manager for EFECT in Nigeria at Street Child and Alhassan Jusu, Regional MEAL Manager in Nigeria at Street Child.

Over the past four years, the Education For Every Child Today (EFECT) programme, a partnership between Street Child and Education Above All Foundation, with support from the Qatar Fund For Development, has enrolled more than 100,000 out-of-school children into quality primary education across Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and Liberia.

This result reflects what makes EFECT's approach distinctive: support is designed to go beyond enrolment and tackle the barriers that prevented children from accessing or continuing their education in the first place.

In Nigeria, that support has taken many forms, such as building Temporary Learning Centres, refurbishing classrooms, and training community volunteer teachers. But underpinning all of this is child protection and social work, which has supported over 50,000 children across Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and Liberia since the programme began.

Hear from Jessica Adams and Alhassan Jusu, about what that work actually looks like.

What are the barriers keeping so many children out of school in Nigeria?

Jessica: The most common reasons we see are child labour, early or forced marriage, violence or neglect at home, and disability. Children often work to support their families. Early marriage is often driven by cultural beliefs and financial pressure. Families will often receive “bride prices” for their daughters, and in most cases, this means girls will leave school early and permanently. Experiences of violence or emotional harm make it difficult for children to attend school at all. When they do attend, these experiences can affect their ability to concentrate, participate, and learn. These situations are often linked to wider pressures such as poverty, displacement, conflict, and limited access to social services or legal protection. In these contexts, stress on caregivers and weakened support systems can increase the risk of children experiencing neglect or harm, which in turn affects their well-being, attendance, and ability to learn. Children with disabilities are often excluded from education due to inaccessible school environments, a lack of appropriate support, and discrimination or stigma within their communities. Without the right support, whether that is assistive devices or helping change attitudes, many are unable to access education at all.

What does child protection and case management mean in the context of EFECT?

Jessica: The broad definition is the prevention and response to abuse, neglect, violence, and exploitation, but for EFECT the focus is specifically on case management. In practice, that means mental health support for children, regular home and school visits to check on their safety and wellbeing, and positive parenting sessions with caregivers. For children with disabilities, we provide assistive devices, like hearing aids or wheelchairs, and work with schools and communities to shift attitudes and reduce the discrimination and stigma they can face. Families also receive support through our Family Business for Education scheme – we give families grants and training to help them start or grow their own businesses, so they can earn a steady income. This can reduce the pressure on children to work and help families cover education-related costs such as school supplies and uniforms.

Alhassan: We think of case management as a 360-degree approach. Case workers gather perspectives from the child, their parents, and their teachers to build a complete picture, and the children themselves are brought into it, made aware of their rights and what the programme can do for them.

Why is child protection so important for education?

Alhassan: Children cannot fully participate in education when they are experiencing violence, neglect, exploitation, or significant emotional distress. These challenges affect whether children enrol in school, attend regularly, and remain engaged in their education. Child protection helps address the barriers that place children at risk and creates the right conditions for them to learn, develop, and thrive. Education and child protection are closely connected because a child's safety and well-being influence both their access to education and their ability to benefit from it.

How do you identify children who need support, and how does the process work?

Jessica: Identifying children who need support is a central and proactive part of what EFECT does. Case workers are regularly present in communities, and there are multiple channels through which children are identified and referred to the programme. A case worker might spot a child in the community who should be in school but isn't, community members come to us, children come forward themselves, or we receive referrals from other organisations. Once a child is identified, a case worker does an assessment with caregivers and teachers, and from there a care plan is developed collaboratively. The child, their caregiver, and the case worker agree the next steps and who is responsible for each one, with cases closing when the child is back in school consistently and the barriers affecting their education have been addressed.

Alhassan: We have also had referrals from the Ministry of Gender and Social Welfare, who recently referred 10,000 assessed children to the EFECT programme. That tells you a lot about the scale of need in Nigeria and reflects the Ministry's strong willingness to work with EFECT to support vulnerable children.

How does the work differ in conflict-affected areas?

Jessica: North East Nigeria has experienced years of conflict driven by insurgency, which has left thousands of children displaced, separated from their families, or drawn into armed groups. EFECT has supported over 2,200 children who were associated with armed groups to reintegrate into their communities and back into normal life, providing mental health support for children and parents, and working with community leaders to build acceptance when families return. For children separated from their families, case workers trace relatives where they can, and where that isn't possible, we find and support trained caregivers to step in. But it always comes back to the individual child and their specific circumstances. Every case is different.

What keeps you motivated to do this kind of work?

Jessica: Seeing the children's faces when we're able to reunite them with family stays with you because you see their happiness. Sometimes you meet a child who tells you they've barely eaten once a day, and after the support, they're eating properly and going to school. Sometimes, through positive parenting, you see a parent change how they're caring for their child, and a child who was being neglected starts to feel safe and settled. It is seeing the joy and happiness in children that keeps me motivated.

Alhassan: I have a deep passion for this work because of the joy it brings to people's faces, and what I'm contributing to, seeing children and families regain hope and opportunities for the future. A lot of people, because of this crisis, have lost hope, and with this support, they know they have another chance. And personally, I am a living story of what it means to start from zero to where we are. In my family, I'm the first to go to university, the first to have this kind of job. My own journey reflects the opportunities education can create, and seeing that kind of change in others motivates me deeply.