The International Labour Organisation (ILO) and key partners have kicked off an intensive eight-day “Transform Training of Trainers” (TOT) programme in Abuja, the first in Nigeria, to bridge the capacity gaps limiting a more inclusive social protection system.
The ILO Country Director for Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, Dr Vanessa Phala who declared the TOT open yesterday in Abuja, underscored the importance of the training as a landmark event, the first of its kind to be held in Nigeria.
She said: “This is the first time we are facilitating this training in Nigeria. We have done so much in the social protection space, from supporting the initial policy to the current revision of Nigeria’s social protection framework.”
Phala highlighted that the ILO, in collaboration with UNICEF, has been implementing social protection interventions across four states; Abia, Benue, Oyo, and Sokoto, making this the ideal time to introduce the Transform TOT.
He added: “We are here to capacitate our constituents so that as we develop and design social protection interventions, we do so from a well-informed position.” Phala who praised participants for committing eight full days to the programme, said it was “an investment that will reinforce and enhance what you are already doing.”
She emphasized that the training would be contextspecific, allowing facilitators and participants to adapt global knowledge to Nigeria’s unique challenges. She said: “Even though the training is in Nigeria for the first time, our facilitators are bringing vast insights from other countries where the programme has been successful.
But we also want to learn from you, from your day-to-day experiences implementing these initiatives. “This is complementary to what you are already doing. It reinforces our collective effort to ensure that social protection in Nigeria is not only well-designed but also effectively implemented.”
The Transform Hub Coordinator for Africa, Felix Mwenge, who explained that the TOT was designed to empower Nigerian trainers who would cascade the knowledge across states and institutions, identified three key capacity gaps in Nigeria’s social protection landscape:
