Scale-up integrated case management services, including accelerated learning to children formerly associated with armed associated groups  in Borno state, Northeast Nigeria Now in its twelfth year, the conflict in northeast Nigeria continues to disrupt the lives and livelihoods of millions of people across Borno, Adamawa and Yobe (BAY) states. Violent attacks by non-state armed groups (NSAGs) and military counter-operations have displaced men, women, and children, disrupted farming and other livelihoods, and limited the functionality of markets and other basic services. The conflict has deteriorated the nutritional status among children and women, and devastated the already fragile public infrastructure, including health, education, water and sanitation and other public services capacities to protect children in fragile humanitarian settings.
The operating environment remains extremely volatile, particularly in Borno State, where main supply routes have become dangerous due to risk of attack by NSAGs. The ongoing conflict will continue to severely affect millions of people in 2021 and is expected to persist unabated in the next years, subjecting people to displacement, impoverishment, and threats of violence, including sexual violence against women and children. The conflict, explosive remnants of war, and insecurity have cut people off from farming and fishing – their primary livelihoods – causing major food insecurity across northeast Nigeria, competition for livelihoods, disruption of social cohesion among the population and  increasing gender inequalities.
The COVID-19 pandemic has also compounded and complicated the humanitarian needs and response in the northeast. Nigeria’s economy has suffered from the global fall in oil prices, reallocation of government resources in response to the pandemic, and measures taken to curtail the spread of the virus, including intermittent border closures. 
Also, since May 2021, there have been  waves of defectors from  NSAGs resulting into over crowdedness in some rehabilitation centers and the establishment of new ones to cater to these individuals.  To date, numbers are yet to be confirmed, however available data estimate over 2000 defectors and counting is  still  on-going. 
To date, UNICEF has led the following: 1. Development of a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for unaccompanied and separated children (UASC) and other vulnerable children 2. Conducted a comprehensive review and verification of existing child protection case management caseload to achieve results, 3. Verification of current child protection caseload, including review and determining the status of each individual caseload, 4. Improving case tracking and workload management. Based on the review, all verified case records of children are now assigned to UNICEF child protection implementing partners taking into consideration their capacity, availability of social workers and operational locations in consideration of outreach and access, 5. Strengthening the case management processes and capacities of the social workforce. 

Through this allocation, UNICEF will target LGAs in the North-East of Nigeria where gaps exist in comprehensive case management and continue to strengthen the child protection case management  through constant support to the Borno State Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development (BSMWASD) and NGO partners. UNICEF will deliver an integrated package of interventions to conflict-affected populations in line with the inter-agency Humanitarian Response Plan 2021.