The Vanuatu Child Desk team has launched a new national child protection database to strengthen the safety and wellbeing of children at risk across Vanuatu’s six provinces.
From a press release it states that the system will enable frontline Child Protection Officers to manage cases more effectively, ensuring stronger coordination across child protection, child justice, and adoption services.
This week in Santo, Child Desk Officers are participating in a training program on the new database, delivered in partnership with local IT firm Tobo Consultancy. The training, involving 10 participants, aims to build the technical capacity of officers so they can better support children and communities nationwide. A related Human Rights Office review meeting gathered 25 participants in total.
Following the training, all Child and Disability Officers reviewed their 2025 annual plans and set priorities for the upcoming year. National Child Desk Coordinator, Tristelle Karae, who is also temporarily overseeing the disability desk, highlighted the significant progress achieved by the teams this year.
Minister responsible for children and people with disability, Hon. Job Sam Andy, visited Santo to meet with officers, engaging directly with provincial teams and acknowledging the essential community services being delivered. The Minister commended the Ministry for successfully implementing the Government’s decentralisation policy by expanding services across all six provinces.
Looking ahead, the Ministry of Justice, Youth and Community Services Corporate Services Unit will hold induction training and its annual provincial networking next week for over 25 officers, including Child and Disability Officers as well as all Sanma Provincial Officers under the justice and youth sector. This will further strengthen community support.
The technical training is supported through the Vanuatu–Australia Partnership, with funding from the Australian High Commission in Vanuatu and technical assistance from the Public Service Commission via the Vanuatu Institute of Public Administration (VIPAM), Vanuatu Skills Partnership, and UNICEF.
This initiative highlights the power of collaboration between government, local specialists, and international partners, ensuring justice, youth, and community services are strengthened and delivered effectively across Vanuatu.
Photos supplied
