Supporting vulnerable returnees and out camp IDPs by providing comprehensive general protection wellbeing services in Iraq The proposed project aims to provide protection assistance to 12,948 vulnerable returnees and out-of-camp IDPs and institutional capacity building for 36 local agency (NNGOs/CSOs)  staff in Ninewa, Anbar, Diyala and Salah Al-Din governorates reaching a cummulative direct target of 12,984 individuals.. The 8-month project will be implemented by a consortium including Cordaid (INGO and lead agency), and two national NGOs, AAF, and Yazda. Comprehensive support and protection services will be provided to vulnerable returnees and out-of-camp IDPs as well as community-based interventions addressing safety, wellbeing and social integration community-wide.

The scope of the first proposed project intervention is providing increased access to general support and protection services to vulnerable people needing to rebuild their lives and livelihoods. These services include  a) case management (including referrals to specialized services), b) cash for protection, c) community-based protection activities and d) outreach, structured individual and group psychosocial support (PSS), e) legal assistance and f) awareness, counselling and protection monitoring at the household level  . 
The Cordaid-AAF-Yazda consortium brings together the technical, operational and complementary geo-positioning to leverage capacities, to ensure coverage and acceptance of the services in each community targeted. This consortium will be effective, build synergies, encourage community ownership and work towards localization. 

The comprehensive protection services for these specific target groups will be provided in the following locations:
  Ramadi district – Anbar governorate (by Cordaid) 
  Baquba district – Diyala governorate (by Cordaid) 
 Tooz Khormatu district – Salah Al-Din governorate (by AAF)
 Qahtaniya (Ger Ezear), Siba SheikhKhider. Village,Wardeya – Baaj district – Ninewa governorate  (by Yazda) 

The geographical allocation within the consortium is based on the previous operational presence of each agency in each of these locations existing entry points in and acceptance by communities the experience and expertise available on the ground to ensure prompt activation of services or extension of existing protection services to newly arriving vulnerable individuals at their respective communities.

The second proposed project intervention will focus on strengthening the institutional capacities of local agencies operating in the above-mentioned governorates to promote ownership and localization, to enhance sustainability through an effective handover of responsibilities. This will be part of the project exit strategy. This will be done through coordination with the sub-clusters in each of the targeted governorates to identify local agencies and government bodies. Cordaid will develop the institutional capacities of these agencies in areas such as PCM, MEAL, MHPSS, PSEA/GP policies, finance, and admin practices, and reporting, and developing SOPs for security, risk and compliance management and/or other specific areas based on the existing capacity gaps identified for each of these agencies. This support will also be extended to the NNGOs within the consortium (AAF and Yazda). A capacity-building plan will be developed by Cordaid based on a rapid needs assessment  . 

Coordination and information sharing between the consortium partners working across the targeted geographical areas will take place on a regular basis at different levels and across capacities (technical, operational, financial).  Synergies will be sought to ensure equal quality of services across the locations. Monthly consortium meetings will be organized by Cordaid for monitoring progress, identifying best practices or identifying gaps and sharing technical expertise.