Protection & GBV

Protection and GBV response in Kelafo

Mobile protection teams, community protection committees and psychosocial support for drought- and displacement-affected women, girls and vulnerable groups in Shabelle Zone.

Project at a glance

Funded byEthiopia Humanitarian Fund, UN OCHA

Period1 April 2026 – 31 March 2027 (12 months)

WhereHele Ba’ad, New Town, Dariiqo and Buur Gabo kebeles — Kelafo Woreda, Shabelle Zone

BudgetUSD 299,905

Target5,000 people — 2,720 women and girls, 1,880 men and boys, including 400 people with disabilities

StatusOngoing — first quarter reported

A note on how we report this project

Numbers only, and deliberately so

This page carries aggregate figures and nothing else. No case details, no survivor stories, no quotes, no photographs of participants.

Protection and gender-based violence work depends on confidentiality. People come forward because they trust that what they say goes no further. That trust is worth more than a compelling story on a website, so we publish only what cannot identify anyone — how many people we reached, with what, and where.

The same rule applied to the baseline survey behind this project: it collected no names, no identifying details and no incident-level information from survivors.

First quarter delivered

Reported against the 12-month target of 5,000 people. These are the numbers actually recorded in the first reporting period.

Community protection committees established, one in each target kebele

120

People taking part in committee formation and strengthening

200

Community members reached by mobile protection teams

223

Women and girls attending group psychosocial support sessions

What has happened so far

A two-day district launch and familiarisation workshop with the Kelafo District Women and Children Affairs Office — 24 participants, covering protection principles, GBV response, community-based protection systems and accountability
Community Protection Committees established and strengthened in all four target kebeles, with 120 participants — 65 women and 55 men
A five-day training in Psychological First Aid and safe referral pathways for 30 people, delivered with the Women and Children Affairs Office and the health sector
Training on protection, GBV, safeguarding and referral mechanisms for 50 committee members and key stakeholders across the four kebeles
Mobile teams deployed with female staff alongside male staff, providing confidential, survivor-centred case management and reaching 200 community members with awareness raising
30 protection cases identified and managed — each assessed, supported, referred and followed up
Group psychosocial support sessions for women and girls, alongside life-skills activities built around henna sessions and talent sharing, with attendance rising in all four kebeles
Community awareness sessions on stress and coping in local language, using group discussion, role play and open questions, reaching 160 people
Woreda-level coordination meetings on Anticipatory Action with government authorities and humanitarian partners
A baseline household survey across the four kebeles — 188 respondents drawn proportionally from a population of 30,400, conducted under do-no-harm, informed consent, safeguarding and PSEA standards

Why it is needed

What we found in Kelafo

Compounding shocks

Communities here are dealing with drought, displacement, economic hardship, conflict and public health emergencies at the same time — conditions that generate sustained psychological distress.

Protection systems that had stopped working

In many of these communities the local protection structures were weak or non-functional, so problems were not being identified early or referred anywhere.

Stigma around mental health

Misconceptions about stress and mental health kept people from asking for help at all. Awareness work in local language, led by community and religious leaders, is how that changes.

A host community and a displaced one

The baseline covered 30,400 people across the four kebeles — 30,229 host community members and 171 internally displaced people.

What is still to come

Cash-for-protection and dignity kit distribution sit under this project’s third output. As of the first quarter report only the baseline assessment had been completed under that output — no distributions had taken place. We will update this page when they do.

Protection work needs long funding, not short

Talk to us about supporting confidential, survivor-centred protection services in Shabelle Zone.