The Nigerian Forum on Rehabilitation of Street Children, a non-governmental organisation, recently claimed that no fewer than 13 million children across the country live and survive on the streets. The organisation called on policy makers, other non-governmental organisations and other stakeholders, to urgently formulate a national policy on street children. Worried about the rising number of street children in the country, stakeholders at a recent conference in Abuja offered solutions on how to solve the challenge. They observed that the conference with its theme as: "The Plights of Street Children in Nigeria", presented a platform for effective collaboration with states on the need to address the problem.
In the light of this, Speaker of the House of Representatives Yakubu Dogara, said that the House Committee on Women Affairs and Social Development would address the problems through appropriate intervention. Represented by Rep. Stella Ngwu, the Chairman, House Committee on Women Affairs and Social Development, he assured the stakeholders that the house would provide legislative framework that would discourage activities that result in having street children. Rep. Ngwu said that her committee was partnering with a gender-based NGO, the Women's Aid Collective, to drive the implementation of the Violence against Persons (Prohibition) Act and the Child Rights Act.