Improved, well-coordinated gender sensitive and quality child protection services for Boys and girls including adolescents, children with disabilities facing life-threatening risks of abuse, neglect, violence, exploitation, and severe distress in Luuq. Since the beginning of 2020, additional shocks, extensive floods, desert locust infestations, the COVID-19 pandemic and drought have had compounding effects, further deteriorating already compromised systems and gains that had already been made in the economy. The secondary impacts have impacted directly the well-being of children with the rise of negative coping mechanisms being witnessed and reported such as rise in child marriage, psychological distress, sexual violence and other harmful practices. According to the Humanitarian Needs Overview (2021) children and adolescents in Somalia are targets of killing, maiming and abduction, recruitment into armed groups, detention, sexual and physical violence. Boys are at an elevated risk of recruitment to armed groups. The actual extent of grave violations of children’s rights is higher than what is reported and verified. Separated and unaccompanied children are at heightened risk of various forms of violence, exploitation and abuse. While some have been placed into alternative care arrangements, a large number live alone or in the street. COVID-19 and the drought situation has stretched the foster families providing alternative care to the children. The Child Protection AoR assessment in 2020 carried out among partners also reported that children were expressing aggressive behaviors which point out to psychological distress stemming from the dire living conditions at home. IA recent study conducted by WVI in Luuq and other neighboring districts revealed that the market places, water points were some of the places identified by both IDPs and host communities as unsafe for children. The major child protection concerns identified during this study included child labour, child marriage, school dropout and sexual violence. These results are   corroborated by the education cluster reports that indicated that children are out of school in Gedo region as a result of drought with about 6000 primary school children affected. This project has been designed to respond to these needs through risk mitigation and prevention of violations of children rights and addressing child protection needs through case management. Leveraging on already existing health, WASH and Food and Cash Assistance projects in Luuq, this project’s interventions have been designed to synergize efforts to deliver well-coordinated interventions to address the child protection needs. This presence of WVI staff in Luuq and the existing connection with community structures already provides registered vulnerable people groups for this project to build on. Prevention of violations and risk mitigation through a community led process has been factored including capacity building plans for self-protection among the children and their care givers. Awareness raising on the child protection and equipping of care givers with positive parenting skills is provided for to ensure children associated with armed forces and armed groups are safely re-integrated within their households and community.  To increase access to specialized child protection services either directly or through referral, update and dissemination of the referral pathway is one of the key intervention planned for to raise awareness among service providers and the community for quick and timely response. Provision for MHPSS at individual and group level has been created to meet the needs of children across different ages. Home visits will be facilitated by the care givers to meet the needs of children with disability to ensure they are not left out. Child Friendly Spaces as a measure for MHPSS has also been included in the project. COVID-19 control measures of hand washing and provision of masks for the children will be done. Screening before admission will also be done with the CFS being equipped with thermometers. Through these activities, 1300boys, 1650girls, 850men, 1100 women and 354 of persons with disability 50M,60W,122B and122G will be reached.