COORDINATION
Coordination of the child protection (CP) response to Sudanese refugees in South Sudan has been mainly driven by the field. In Gambella, there is a child protection working group (CPWG), and two specific groups on information management and case management. At the camp level, there is a weekly working group which covers CP as well as Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV). The Administration for Refugee and Returnee Affairs (ARRA) participates in the CP working group and in the camp level coordination meetings.
Besides refugee coordination, the Bureau of Labour and Social Affairs Government (BOLSA) leads a child protection task force group for the Gambella region, but there is no established linkage between both coordination fora.
In Addis Ababa, the refugee response is covered by the Refugee Task force, the National Protection Working Group, and the sub-group for Child Protection and Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV).
Decentralization has, according to partners, worked well at the operational level, but at times has lacked strategic vision and the set-up of harmonized approaches and standards in some areas. At the Gambella level, a need to receive further support in order to resolve specific policy bottlenecks, and a closer involvement in partner selection, were mentioned by partners.