Post-war children at the forefront of priorities: A new partnership between the NCCW and AcoGaps 

A consultative meeting in Khartoum brought together the National Council for Child Welfare (NCCW)and the African Centre for Governance, Peace, and Transition Studies (AcoGaps ) to develop a roadmap for protecting a generation that experienced war in its early years.

The meeting, held at the Centre’s headquarters, discussed how reconstruction programs can be transformed into a safety net for children returning with their families to their areas, especially in areas of voluntary return and early recovery.

The Director of AcoGaps, Dr. Mahmoud Zain Al-Abidine, explained that the discussion went beyond immediate relief. The main topics were: psychosocial support to address the effects of trauma, reintegrating children into their communities, and raising awareness of their rights to protection. Both parties agreed on the necessity of integrating children’s issues into the core of national policies and reconstruction programs.

Zain Al-Abidine pointed out that the next phase requires practical partnerships and initiatives that directly address the challenges left by the war.

For his part, the Secretary-General of the NCCW, Dr. Abdul Qader Abdullah Abu, praised the center’s programs in the areas of governance and community transformation, emphasizing that joint cooperation will expand the scope and improve the quality of interventions to reach children and families in areas of return.

The meeting concluded with a shared affirmation: there can be no true recovery without a safe environment for children, and no stability without giving them the opportunity for psychological and social recovery. The message was clear: the new phase is defined by protected children, recovering communities, and peace built from the ground up.