Provision of protection and lifesaving services for children and young people affected by conflict in Upper Nile State INTERSOS has been present with child protection activities in Upper Nile State since 2014, working in Malakal PoC and Malakal Town on reunifying children who have become unaccompanied or separated (UASC) due to the ongoing conflict in South Sudan and providing them with life-saving and psychosocial support based on their needs. As CP subcluster co-lead for Upper Nile State, with the proposed project INTERSOS intends to continue building on the positive outcomes of the ongoing CP programme implemented in both Malakal town and PoC where INTERSOS is currently managing three CP help-desks for FTR activities and five community-based PSS structures. Thus, the proposed project aims at 1) enhancing ongoing activities for identification, registration, family tracing, reunification and interim care arrangements for UASC, orphans and children leaving armed forces in line with South Sudan SOPs 2) strengthening activities for identification, registration, referral and follow-up of other vulnerable children (OVC) including provision of referrals to other services (education, health, NFIs, nutrition) 3) reinforcing the ongoing provision of psychosocial support (PSS) to decrease children’s psychosocial distress due to protracted exposure to violence 4) improving the existing community-based child friendly spaces (CFS) through provision of CBPSS services to young children and adolescent, engagement in mini social projects including risk mapping exercise and production of local toys 5) reinforcing parents, caregivers, existing community and education structures ownership and participation for delivery of CBPSS services. INTERSOS CBPSS practices are designed in line with the PSS task force Community-based CFS guidance, toolkit and good practices for supporting adolescents in South Sudan shared and endorsed at national level. This include trust, team building and stimulating exercises to enable children to work in groups, promote trust, and reduce troubling feelings. Children’s documented reactions to these activities allow INTERSOS to identify and respond to threats posed to their psychosocial well-being. The TLS/CFS structures are managed with INTERSOS facilitation by both PTAs (parents-teachers associations) and the rest of the community volunteers involved with CBPSS activities. Over 200 community members volunteer daily in the CBPSS structures to offer children constant support to improve their psychosocial welfare, which provides the community with an increased sense of ownership, acceptance and participation for sustainable CP services. INTERSOS intends to build on this positive outcomes and enhance the quality of the CBPSS intervention through direct involvement of parents and caregivers through workshops aimed at reinforcing children and parents’ resilience and identifying specific activities to empower community members and existing community structures to take over the full implementation of CP services in the long-term, while continuing strengthening provision of CBPSS services in the existing structures. This is coupled with the continuous efforts INTERSOS undertakes for awareness rising among parents, caregivers, influential community members, and parents and teachers associations, delivering knowledge on CP issues and challenges through - among others - the well-established community-based drama team composed of INTERSOS facilitators, trained community volunteers and adolescents, constantly engaged in delivering awareness messages on CP issues to the whole community. This is complemented by continuous engagement of the community through the well-established community-based CP network made of community members to assess, monitor and address CP issues in Malakal PoC and Town. Overall, strengthening community-based child protection mechanisms and consolidating referral pathways are two key activities INTERSOS will focus on to ensure that longer-term changes are sustained in a protective and child-friendly environment.