Ensuring Persons with Special Needs access to social care services in Sortoni and Um-Baru in North Darfur This project encompasses responses to the social care needs of Persons with Special Needs among newly displaced in Um-Baru for returnees, as well as , and Sortoni IDPs camps where over 65,000 newly displaced IDPs from Jebel Marra crisis have arrived. The project is planned for 12 months from 15/05/2016 to 14/05/2017, aiming at improving Social Care protection for Persons with special needs identified, verified and registered for further support that includes referral to available services eg. clinical services for survivors, health insurance, provision of mobility aids to persons with disabilities and individual direct assistance (Material and Cash Voucher).
The project therefore aims at enabling provision of immediate lifesaving protection assistance for 3,214 Persons with Specific Needs (485 men, 1602 women, 430 boys and 697 girls) among new IDPs in ,, Sortony and returnees in Um-Baru, mainly persons with disability, vulnerable elderly persons, and vulnerable female headed households. The response to emergency needs includes identification of Persons with special needs, distribution of hygiene kits to 450 vulnerable women and girls of reproductive age and referral to services providers, support to community based capacities to social care protection by supporting women center to provide skills training for livelihoods and awareness raising on GBV/RH and HIV/AIDS. The intervention intends to reduce protection concerns significantly, as 90% of the newly displaced IDPs are women and children. In addition, social care needs of Persons with special needs among 30,000 returnees in Um-Baru are targeted to response to key concerns that include lack of personal documentation (national and personal identity cards, land deeds, birth certificate for children and marriage certificate) and unemployment among youth at risk with urgent need for livelihoods.
This follows UNHCR's approach to community-based protection that aim at the active involvement of people of concern and is sensitive to conflicts as causes of original displacement, which calls for creating fora of communication with PSN, surrounding communities and local authorities. Such fora, e.g. in the form of committees, are not only intended to become independent and self-sustained after the project, their existence is also to be connected to concrete projects that can give momentum to its work and translate efforts into tangible and lasting results. However, the core strength of these community-based efforts will come from the identification and effective integration of persons with special needs, especially in relation to age, gender and diversity, designed to work towards an increase of livelihood and other options sustaining the effects of individual assistance given to PSN in frame of this project.
Therefore ASSIST will support the formation and training of 9 community-based protection committees to reduce Persons with special needs ’ vulnerability and promote a favorable social care environment, enhanced by 9 community projects to be designed and selected by the communities. The project staff will also conduct community mobilization to ensure social care protection through support to community meetings places in Sortoni and Um-Baru including a women center to provide skills training and livelihoods options for vulnerable Persons with Special Needs, including training of women on fuel efficient stoves. 
ASSIST will work closely with the State Ministry of Social Welfare to provide psychosocial support and counseling for Persons with special needs , and support to access health insurance, mobility and visual aid facilities. Furthermore, ASSIST will coordinate closely with the GoS’ police/legal authorities and the Department of Civil Registration in Um-Baru to facilitate issuing of personal documents for returnees necessary to acquire land, bank account marriage and death certificate etc.