Provision of Protection to the most acutely vulnerable and most at risk IDPs in Marib Al Wadi district, Marib Governorate (Priority 2) Through the proposed intervention, Relief International (RI) will provide reproductive health (RH) and prevention and response to gender based violence (GBV) services, empowerment activities for women and girls in Marib Al-wadi district, Marib governorate, with a particular focus on people with disabilities and considering multiple protection risks. The district was selected based on a stakeholder mapping which identified gaps in service provision to host community and Internally Displaced Person (IDPs) (Annex 1.) RI will establish one Women and Girls Safe Space (WGSS) to provide integrated RH-GBV package services including women and girls’ empowerment activities. The GBV services that will be provided are case management and skills development to focus on psychosocial support (PSS) services as well as awareness raising and women empowerment. All activities will be implemented while adhering to RI case management and referral SOPs (Annex 3 and 7), and quality benchmark standards. The WGSS will be established close to the HFs that would be supported through RI ECHO or BHA proposed projects in the area. Selection will be made in coordination with the Health Team and local authorities to agree on a suitable building, however, location will be prioritized to be in the close proximity of supported HFs as health care is often the entry point for identifying and referring GBV survivors. The protection activities will begin with an interaction with the community and local authorities to gain approval and acceptance. The approach will highlight the benefits for individuals and families of enhancing the protection and wellbeing of women and girls. Early and meaningful engagement with community, authorities and women will lead the tailoring and adjustment of activities, particularly the skills training selection, to fit the direct needs and preferences identified. RI will develop a strong referral network structure relying on local stakeholders and implementing partner’s coordination. In total targets of the proposal is 3790 (2456W, 30M, and 1304G) individuals will be reached through the center-based activities over the project period. The focus will remain on serving IDPs with only 10% of the targeted individuals expected to be host community.

This intervention is designed to leverage RI's other proposed projects under BHA and ECHO for which will deliver health and nutrition services, therefore, facilitating RI's reach to women and girls. The health and nutrition projects will complement and support this intervention thanks to its community health volunteer outreach program and activities. The volunteers will be mobilized and capacitated to include awareness around WGSS services in their activities. The Protection and Health Teams, including volunteers, will receive relevant protection training/sensitization to build their capacity to maintain quality of care and referrals of GBV cases, respecting confidentiality and dignity of GBV survivors.

This proposed intervention was endorsed by the Protection Cluster (Annex 8.)