Addressing the Specific Protection Needs of Drought and Conflict Affected Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Four Woredas of Oromia National Regional State The project address the protection needs of conflict and drought affected internally displaced persons (IDPs) in four Woredas of Oromia region through facilitating protection monitoring and capacity building support by mobile protection teams, establishing children and women friendly inclusive spaces in IDP sites, and providing capacity building support on gender, age and disability mainstreaming for agencies granted under EHF scheme. The project will establish two Mobile Protection Teams (MBTs) operating in four selected Woredas. Each team will be composed of five persons (Child protection expert, GBV expert, General Protection expert, representative from Woreda women and children affairs office, and a driver) to monitor the protection situation of IDPs and affected host communities. These protection teams will also be sensitized on disability mainstreaming before initiating their work in the field. The mobile protection team will undertake all-inclusive protection monitoring, service mapping and referral pathways, identification and response to community-level protection concerns, referral and response to individual protection cases, and cluster reporting. The mobile protection team will operate in four Hotspot Woredas: Yabelo and Guchi from Borane zone, and Babile and Gursum from East Hararghe zone.

The project will also establish children and women friendly inclusive safe spaces equipped with trained protection workers amp CP/GBV community workers, co-located in temporary health centers or temporary learning centers in IDP sites. The children and women friendly inclusive spaces will provide community based services in the field particularly targeting children/women vulnerable to protection risks including people with disabilities and older persons : i) CP/GBV direct service delivery including community and family support, focused non-specialized support and specialized services (using short term non-pharmacological psychotherapy) aiming at improving coping mechanisms of vulnerable persons and enhancing community-based level protection strategies ii) Ensuring the participation of the affected community to improve CP/GBV situation iii) Coordination with other humanitarian actors to enhance the referral pathways and thus to provide a holistic response (GBV, CP, health actors etc.) iv) referrals and linkages to the Children and women’s spaces v) providing capacity building support to Woreda level women and children affairs offices. Children and Women’s friendly inclusive spaces will be established in Yabelo Woreda of Borena zone and Gursum Woreda in East Hararghe zone of Oromia region where HelpAge and Handicap International have a very strong presence. Awareness raising activities are also integrated with the children and women friendly inclusive spaces service provision including community conversations facilitation, IEC materials distribution and public event organization (during 16 days of activism and international women’s day). The community discussions will be facilitated by diverse community wellbeing workers focusing on prevention of GBV and child abuse as well as facilitation of incidence reporting and referral services.

The project will support gender, age and disability capacity building through short term mainstreaming assistance to all actors granted under the EHF Protection Cluster scheme. The team will build gender in emergencies mainstreaming capacity, specific needs with dedicated focus on ageing and disability and their needs among humanitarian workers operating in the targeted IDP camps. Tailored Gender in Emergencies tools and Age and Disability Capacity (ADCAP) tool will be employed.