West African Alternative Care Summit

20/03/2026

Happy Eid Al Fitr to everyone celebrating.

🌙

08/03/2026

This International Women’s Day, we celebrate the women leading change for children and families across West Africa.

From caregivers to policymakers, women are at the heart of stronger care systems.

When women lead, communities thrive.

03/02/2026

Why WAACS 2026 Is Necessary

In West Africa, institutionalization remains a common response to family separation - not because it works best, but because systems often fall short.

This happens when families don’t get the support they need, policies don’t speak to each other, and key actors work in isolation. Too often, children are placed in institutions due to:

1. Limited family-strengthening and poverty-reduction programs,
2. Fragmented policy frameworks, and
3. Weak coordination among government, civil society, and communities.

Yet the evidence is clear: children thrive best in families.

Alternative care options like kinship care, foster care, and adoption are proven solutions. But across the region, policy gaps, cultural resistance, and weak implementation continue to limit their impact.

This is why WAACS exists.

The West African Alternative Care Summit (WAACS) 2026 builds on the conversations, connections, and commitments from WAACS 2025 - with a deeper focus on action, collaboration, and lasting systems change.

Location: Accra, Ghana
Date: June 17–18, 2026
For more information, visit: www.waacsummit.com

Registration opens soon. Save the date. Be part of the shift.



SOS Children's Villages Nigeria Child's i Foundation

13/01/2026

We are pleased to announce that the West African Alternative Care Summit (WAACS) 2026 will take place in Accra, Ghana, from June 17–18, 2026.
Building on the success of the last WAACS, which convened over 400 practitioners, policymakers, advocates, and partners from across West Africa in Jos, Nigeria, the 2026 edition will deepen regional collaboration and accelerate action toward sustainable, family-based care systems.

WAACS 2026 will continue to serve as a critical platform for advancing care reform, bringing together diverse voices to share evidence, strengthen partnerships, and drive long-term impact for children and families across the region.

Registration will open soon. We invite you to save the date and stay engaged as we prepare for another pivotal gathering.

For more information and sponsorship/partnership opportunities, visit www.waacsummit.com



Sandra Dirmwa Dimka Chikan Christian Association of Youth Mentoring (CAYM) Back2Back Ministries Trauma Free World Child's i Foundation SOS Children's Villages Nigeria Yonpan Yonnie Dariem Prince Moses Ogbeche Christian Alliance for Orphans

07/08/2025

A must read post by Christian Alliance For Orphans (CAFO) Blog on The first-ever West African Alternative Care Summit (WAACS 2025), held July 16-17 in Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria, brought together more than 300 child welfare, government and ministry leaders.

The first-ever West African Alternative Care Summit (WAACS 2025), held July 16-17 in Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria, brought together more than 300 child welfare, government and ministry leaders. Convened by orphan advocate and care transition coach Sandra Chikan with support from CAFO’s Africa Coach...

29/07/2025

To every volunteer who helped bring WAACS 2025 to life, THANK YOU.
Your dedication, professionalism, and positive spirit were essential to the success of this summit. From logistics and coordination to guest engagement and technical support, you went above and beyond, often behind the scenes to ensure everything ran smoothly.

You weren’t just assisting, you were an integral part of the movement.
Your presence and commitment helped create an environment where meaningful conversations could thrive, and lasting impact could begin.

We’d love to hear from you: What did WAACS 2025 mean to you? What were your key takeaways?

Share your experience in the comments or tag us in your posts - let’s honor the incredible contributions of every volunteer who helped shape this summit.



BEB Christian Alliance for Orphans Trauma Free World Back2Back Ministries SOS Children's Villages Nigeria Child's i Foundation Victor Eneji Bello Iorahen Sophie

28/07/2025

"Trauma is not just an experience, it’s an eternal wound."

This moment from Julie Cooper, PhD hit differently. Trauma doesn’t end when the experience is over; it stays with children and shapes who they become.
And while survival is important, it’s not enough. Children deserve healing, wholeness, and the chance to thrive. This is why we advocate. This is why WAACS exists.



Trauma Free World Back2Back Ministries Child's i Foundation BEB SOS Children's Villages Nigeria Christian Association of Youth Mentoring (CAYM) Christian Alliance for Orphans Sandra Dirmwa Dimka Chikan Victor Eneji Bello Prince Moses Ogbeche Kingdom Kids Klub

21/07/2025

We are grateful to the following organizations who have contributed their time, money, thoughts, resources and hearts to helping make the first-ever West Africa Alternative Care Summit (WAACS 2025) a success.



Back2Back Ministries Trauma Free World SOS Children's Villages Nigeria Child's i Foundation BEB Christian Association of Youth Mentoring (CAYM) Christian Alliance for Orphans Kingdom Kids Klub Sandra Dirmwa Dimka Chikan Ken Merrifield

19/07/2025

Small groups, big impact.

Breakout sessions at brought voices from across West Africa into deep, focused conversations on child protection, family-based care, and system reform.
Real stories. Real strategies. Real progress.



Christian Alliance for Orphans Child's i Foundation Back2Back Ministries Trauma Free World SOS Children's Villages Nigeria BEB Christian Association of Youth Mentoring (CAYM) Sandra Dirmwa Dimka Chikan Prince Moses Ogbeche Kingdom Kids Klub

18/07/2025

Panel Session: Building Systems for Long-Term Impact.

What happens when children stay too long in orphanages, not because they should, but because systems are too slow or too stuck to move them?

In this session at , speakers raised tough realities:
1. State restrictions mean indigenes can only adopt from their state, limiting placements.
2. Adoption processes, especially normalisation - take time.
3. In the meantime, children wait... longer than they should.

But long-term impact requires more than policy tweaks. It requires intentional structures that help children excel while they wait:
- Learning to socialize
- Building life skills
- Preparing for independence

At the end, the room agreed that Systems must be built not just to remove children from institutions, but to build them up while they’re in care.

17/07/2025

Panel 1 Discussion Session Highlight:
TOPIC: Sustainable Family-Based Alternatives

"It’s not just about training and strengthening, we need peer support." - David Adoke, (Child's i Foundation)

Sustainability starts with the community. David emphasized the power of peer support groups among caregivers and practitioners, where experiences are shared and emotional strength is built together.
We grow stronger when we support each other.