The West Africa Network for the protection of children focuses on ensuring a continuum of services are delivered across the region within and eight-step procedure, ranging from the identification of a vulnerable child and provision of emergency care to their successful social re-integreation.

Since 2005, West African countries have been developing a cooperation mechanism aiming to protect and reintegrate young migrants from one country to another. This regional cooperation now encompasses the 15 countries of ECOWAS. 1’000 young migrants a year are supported by the WAN Network following a common procedure of intervention based on harmonized standards. This South-South initiative is supported by the Swiss branch of the International Social Service (ISS) and its West African chapter.

WAN operates at three levels:

1. at children, families and communities level WAN supports children from identification in vulnerable situations to their social professional and/or educational reintegration. It supports the family/community in different projects to empower them to guarantee decent socio – economic conditions to reduce the risk of departure, to help families to better take care of their children
2. at professionals social workers level WAN work to build a network for the actors at national, transnational and regional level of child protection, and also contribute to create cooperation between national protection systems; it offers common procedures for child protection in vulnerable situations while in mobility
3. at the authorities (system) level WAN struggles for the integration of component of children and youth protection in the development of migration policies and in their implementation at the West Africa sub-region (ECOWAS); it also wants to contribute to the implementation of bilateral and multilateral agreements in the fight against child and youth trafficking and mobility