Written by Felicia Imohimi
The Chartered Social Work Practitioners Association of Nigeria (C-ISON) has called for assistance from the Federal Government in training and retraining of practitioners to maintain minimum standards and uniform practice.
Dr. Aime Efem, Director, Internationally Accredited Institute of Social Work, made the call when a delegation of (C-ISON) visited the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation in Abuja on Friday.
He said his visit was to pledge his readiness and support to work collaboratively with the Minister to achieve his mission.
Mr Efem appealed to the Minister to support social workers in building their capacity and professionalizing their practice.
“We see this as a panacea for building strong social work practices in Nigeria and across Africa,” he said.
He expressed the institute’s readiness to support the ministry’s programs to professionalize the practice of social work and increase the number of professional social workers.
According to him, such cooperation would address the myriad social ills affecting the country.
The Rector said the institute offers aspiring social workers the opportunity to gain practical field experience through internships and participation in various activities and projects.
He said projects can be delivered by the institute or in partnership with government agencies or international organizations.
“This organization has been implementing the USAID/Fistula Project in Nigeria since 2007,” Efem said.
He said the partnership provided the project with an avenue to introduce various social work skill-building opportunities to Nigeria.
“The current USAID/MOMENTUM Family Planning and Safe Surgery in Obstetrics (MSSFPO) implemented by EngenderHealth has provided the Institute with new strategies for rehabilitation and reintegration.
“This strategy is fully aligned with the work of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. We are therefore very excited to work as a partner with the Ministry on this project to scale up the capacity development of social workers.
“One of the key elements is the development of counseling protocols to carry out rehabilitation and reintegration.
“The other thing is to create an overview of skill building centers in the implementing states.
“We believe this will be very helpful in training the next generation of social workers who will support most of the rehabilitation of women with fistula and social problems,” he said.
He appealed to the Minister to sponsor relevant officers within the Ministry to participate in the Special Membership and Induction Program for serving senior officers to be properly registered.
He apprised the Minister of the Institute about the international conference scheduled for November 2 to November 4 in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.
The Minister, Dr. Beta Edu, assured that the ministry would work with the institute to advance humanitarian issues in the country. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)
=========
Edited by Dorcas Jonah/Joseph Ede
