COORDINATION
Coordination of the child protection response to Sudanese refugees in South Sudan has been mainly driven by the field. In both Maban and Ajuong Thok, there are Child Protection Working Groups,
Education Working Groups, and Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV) Working Groups. In Maban the group meets on a weekly basis, while in Ajuong Thok the meetings are conducted on a monthly basis. In Ajuong Thok, some challenges for adequate coordination were mentioned, given the fact that staff is overstretched and that for most of the organizations, the same focal points attend each of the above referred coordination groups. In Maban, great efforts have been made to coordinate activities among the two partners, but some challenges were also reported in ensuring full harmonization of activities, taking into account that the distribution of responsibilities is geographically based. Despite the challenges mentioned above, the coordination is largely seen as positive. In Yida, there is no child protection coordination structure operational.
At the South Sudan national level, given the competing priorities and the existing heavy coordination structure based on the cluster system, child protection issues have been discussed mainly during the Multisector Refugee Coordination meeting. UNHCR is considering establishing a Refugee Protection Coordination Group, where child protection issues could also be discussed and addressed.