Central African Republic Joint Response 2021 SUMMARY
CAR continues to face a serious protection crisis,  with 2.6 million people in need - 1.7 million with acute needs, half of whom are children. COVID-19 weakened an already fragile country.
We are planning to focus, strengthen and extend our intervention in Nana Grebizi, Kaga Bandoro Sub-prefecture, while phasing out in Ouham, Bouca sub-prefecture. We will focus on CPiE, integrated with FSL and MPC interventions in both areas. Cash will be a preferred modality throughout all the 3 sectors and to make this even safer, more efficient and more dignified, we are planning to pilot an e-voucher system developed under the South Sudan Joint response (called the Up2U system). In both locations, we will be working with the local NGO Centre pour la Promotion des Droits des Enfants  (CPDE), who has been our partner in Ouham since the beginning of the  CAR JR and with whom we will also start working for this JR in Nana Grebizi. CPDE will only intervene in our  CPIE programming, where its expertise lays. The Central African population has suffered from a complex humanitarian crisis since the advent of the armed conflict in 2013. Displacement and violence occurring in an already fragile national context have had serious humanitarian consequences for the protection of civilians, their living conditions as well as their physical and mental survival. Civilians, particularly women and children, continue to suffer from the consequences of the conflict and are increasingly exposed to protection risks and acute humanitarian needs.  More than 50% of the population is in need of humanitarian assistance, including 1.7 million people in critical situations, such as IDPs and returnees. Children are the direct victims of the conflict because of the risks of family separation, recruitment by armed groups and forces, child trafficking and forced labour, dropping out of school but also sexual violence and forced marriage for girls. The conflict has also caused food insecurity in a country where 75% of its population depend of farming :  markets, transportation of goods, access to farming land, agricultural inputs and assets are all impacted. Food insecurity affects 1,6 million persons, which in turn leads households to adopt negative copying strategies such as reducing their food intake or engaging in illegal or risky activities such as prostitution or association with armed groups. It also contributes to households prioritising their daily food needs rather than health or education costs which are just as essential. Children are particularly vulnerable in areas where long-term problems such as weak state child protection systems, low birth registration rates and discriminatory cultural burdens towards girls exacerbates the protection concerns. While Ouham is still an area with high humanitarian needs, other areas with higher needs have become accessible, such as Kaga-Bandoro in Nana-Grebizi. The focus of the CARJR remains to save lives,
respect basic rights and preserve human
dignity. This is leading by our humanitarian
mandate to go there were the needs are. In
the CAR the needs are everywhere, due to the
history of the CAR, but the needs and gaps
have been assessed to see where the CARJR
could fulfil its objective best, and have the
most impact. The approach for the coming phases is to have a focus on FSL and Protection activities to fulfil this
objective. Cash will be a preferred modality throughout all the sectors. The activities are explained in detail in section 7 "Activity Plan". The presence of 1 stable staff of FLM in Bouca sub-prefecture eased collaboration between Plan and FLM.  We have planned for monthly coordination meetings at Bouca level, while maintaining the quaterly meetings at prefecture level to exchange on project progress, opportunities for collaboration and good practices. 
We will also have quarterly meeting in Kaga Bandoro with IRC and FLM, all the more to update on the security situation and start planning for more collaboration in next phase. FLM will continue to support the communities where Plan works with rehabilitation of water points and latrines, and FLM and Plan will carry out joint community visits, FLM providing awareness raising on hygiene and sanitation and building the capacities of the WASH committees, while Plan will focus on Child Protection and GBV. This collaboration with FLM will be extended to Kaga Bandoro as well. It is also expected that Plan and FLM will share the same committee (RECOPE) for management of the CFS and the WASH equipment of the CFS.   
With SOS, we will maintain the joint activity of gathering of RECOPE from both sub-prefecture, this being an opportunity to present CP issues in the communities and efforts done by the RECOPE to address them to the Director of Social Affairs, as well as to exchange experiences and good practices among community members..
With SOS we will continue working on harmonizing the training curriculum for RECOPEs and start collaborating on psychosocial support, since SOS recruited a psychologist in Ouham. With IRC, we will explore opportunities to harmonize on the community based child protection mechanisms and seek to replicate the gathering of RECOPE in Kaga Bandoro as it has proven to be beneficial in Ouham. With IRC we will also explore if referral of adult GBV survivors identified in Botto would be feasible.  
Since the JR is new in Nana Grebizi,, we will also use 2020 to learn more from each other and identify more opportunities for integrated multi-sectoral programming in Kaga Bandoro. 1.	Girls and boys, including adolescents, affected by conflict, including ENA/ES, CAFAAGs, child SGBV survivors and other vulnerable and at-risk children: 5600 children will be targeted in the project through recreational activities in the CFS and by youth groups, trainings, community awareness, case management, including family tracing, alternative care and reunification with biological family members for UASC, psychosocial support as well as vocational training,  
2.	Adolescent girls and boys identified as CAFAAGs, survivors of SGBV or identified as at risk of abuse and their families: 95 adolescents in Ouham will participate in vocational training in order to start an income-generating activity and support their household members (570 persons).
3.	The most vulnerable families: 1002 vulnerable individuals will benefit from multipurpose cash transfers in the frame of a CFW program in Ouham . Beneficiaries of the unconditional cash are households where no member is able to participate in the CFW's activities. Selection criteria are  : child, elderly or women headed households, HH with PLW, PWD, chronic ill persons or elderly persons
4.	Local division of the Ministry of Social Affairs and service providers as Gendarmerie, hospital and health centers and schools :  Sub-prefecture level of the Ministry in Bouca and prefecture level of the Ministry in Kaga Bandoro will be actively included and supported, health service providers as the Hospital in Bouca and local health centers in Bouca sub-prefecture, the hospital in Kaga as well as the gendarmeries in Bouca and in Kaga-Bandoro will be capacitated to provide child friendly services and respect SoPs. OUHAM, sub-prefecture Bouca: the aim is to phase out in Bouca sub-prefecture to be able to move to locations with higher humanitarian needs (such as Nana-Grebizi), without losing the gains of the multi-year programming in CPIE, FSL and MPC from the past CARJRs, nor putting in danger boys and girls in the targeted area (Axe Bouca-Batangafo). On the contrary, we aim to take this exit as an opportunity to strengthen the capacities from the local actors and embed a sustainable, multi-layered locally-owned child protection mechanism in the area. 
MPC:
•	Provide most vulnerable household members with conditional and unconditional multipurpose cash transfers, in the frame of a cash for work program, benefitting community members, especially children, following CWG guidance. The aim is to rehabilitate a primary school in Bouca town as many children can’t access their right to safe and quality education and community members see education as a main priority
CPiE:
•	identify, document and manage cases of at risk and vulnerable children especially, UASC, child GBV survivors and CAAFAGS, providing them with an holistic, continuous and adapted support, using cash whenever possible. Special efforts will be done towards family tracing, and reunification of UASC, including alternative care with foster families. Foster families taking care of UASC will receive cash to compensate for the costs of the alternative care, following CP and CWG SoPs   
•	run recreational and creatives activities, and provide active listening and Psychological First Aid to 3529  (vulnerable and at risk) children using the CFS and the Family Support center for psychosocial support 
•	awareness raising on child rights, child protection, GBV, referral pathways and available services though community dialogues and celebration of international days, but this time with a stronger lead  from the local actors, especially RECOPE and Social Affairs and reach 3300 persons with appropriate information on relevant rights and/or entitlements
•	consultation and workshops with all local actors involved in CAR JR CPiE programs ( RECOPE, Social Affairs, service providers,  adolescents, children, parents, community volunteers, etc. ) retracing the history of CAR JR in Bouca, identifying the success and gaps as well as the wishes and capacities of the various local actors to continue protecting children and develop jointly an Exit strategy.
•	Intensify training but also coaching with a “learning by doing” approach,  of different local actors ( RECOPE, Social Affairs, service providers,  etc.  based on the exit strategy and capacity building trajectory developed , including introduction to VSLAs and possibly setting up of VSLAs
FSL
•	Continue supporting 95 vulnerable and at risk adolescent boys and girls with alphabetization, life skills sessions, vocational training and start-up kits to support their socio-economical reintegration and provide them and their household members with resources to (re)-start a livelihood
•	support local actors to continue running the vocational training center without Plan and offer other vulnerable persons opportunities to (re)-start a livelihood by developing and implementing a Business Plan as well as organizational and operational reinforcement   

NANA GREBIZI – sub-prefecture Kaga Bandoro: While trying to meet immediate protection needs of population, attention will be given to build a community owned, quality and sustainable response, using learnings from the implementation in Bouca. Focus will also be to develop a response meeting the specific needs of adolescents, as they are heavily impacted by the crisis and violence

CPiE :
•	Strengthening the knowledge and life skills of adolescent boys and girls, (10-19) as well as children to protect themselves and their peers and mitigate protection risks, especially with regard GBV. This will be done though creating Adolescent Clubs and Child Rights Club
•	Strengthening knowledge and skills of parents and caregivers of adolescent boys and girls to provide the necessary care and protection to their children, especially to prevent GBV and care for GBV survivors. This will be done though starting parenting sessions 
•	Strengthening community based child protection mechanisms to prevent and respond to child protection concerns. This will be done though the selection of resources persons to form RECOPEs, start building their capacities and support them in identification of vulnerable and at risk children and awareness raising 
•	Provide UASC, CAFAAGs, child GBV survivors and other at risk children and their families with multi-sector support through direct support and coordinated referrals
•	CFS will be established and furnished, including a PSS room, as well as 1 AYFS (Adolescents and Youth Friendly space), where specific and gender aware activities will be provided. The AYFS will become a girls-only center at least 1 day per week.