Provision of integrated specialized child protection and GBV services for boys, girls and women affected by floods in Balcad  Jowhar districts of Middle Shabelle region. In response to the growing humanitarian crisis in southern Somalia SOS CVS is proposing the following interventions to expand lifesaving Child protection and GBV services to vulnerable populations in two districts in middle Shabelle region. SOS CVS will support the most deprived children, women and girls in IDP camps, those affected by emergencies, crisis and displacements, those at risk of family separation as well as victims of gender based violence whose vulnerability increases due to breakdown in community structures. The project will be implemented in two districts in Middle Shabelle region (Balcad and Jowhar)

The main objective of the proposed integrated protection project is to improve the protection of the targeted children, girls and women from abuse, violence and exploitation in the target area. The  integrated protection emergency response  is designed to improve the protection of the target children, girls and women from abuse, violence and exploitation through provision of psychosocial and mental health support  and provide rapid identification, tracing and family reunification services for those at risk of family separations. In addition to this, unaccompanied and separated children in the intervention targeted IDPs will be reunified with their caregivers/guardians and those children who do not have caregivers/guardians will be supported through community based (clan/kafala) foster care placements.  Through existing Community Protection Committees (CPC), provide a platform to establish community¬ based child protection mechanisms (CBCPMs) to facilitate the identification of and response to child protection concerns, the development of community¬ based mitigation plans, prevention messaging (e.g. on forced recruitment) and child protection surveillance mechanisms. 

The project propose to create CFS at community level that will provide psychosocial and recreational support through structured and age appropriate group and individual activities including recreation, skill building and basic learning activities. The proposed CFS will also provide children with a protective and conducive environment to play socialize and learn to express themselves.  In addition, the project will provide psychosocial and parenting activities to both IDPS and host communities and their caregivers. The project will provide community-based PSS and resilience activities aimed towards coping and strengthening protective environment for children and their parents. Child right groups will be established at community level and provide psychosocial support (PSS) workshops (MHPSS) services to key targeted beneficiaries in view of increasing child resilience in IDP and surrounding communities. This will be conducted in the CFS centers at the community level.
The project will also carry out community based mapping to identify safety risk for children and provide  insight into what issues exist and better understanding of how issues connect to each other and plan for mitigation to support the identified risk.

The project is also designed to increase women and adolescent girls access to life saving prevention and response measures through providing GBV services, case management, PSS counselling to traumatized GBV survivors to reduce risk of GBV at target districts.  To provide timely, effective and efficient GBV responses, the proposed project will train health workers and caseworkers in CM and CMR of rape survivors.  Community based GBV volunteers will be trained to conduct GBV services awareness campaign. This will offer an opportunity to provide much needed response services in the target areas that are without GBV and protection services.  

Finally the intervention will also provide child protection awareness creation on COVID 19 and adopt WHO and CP AoR approved IEC risk communication and print it in local language as well general awareness child protection prevention messages.