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Burkina Faso

Sous-groupe de travail sur la protection de l'enfance

Stratégie opérationnelle pour la protection de

l'enfance dans l’Action humanitaire

Burkina Faso 2019-2021

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CONTENTS

TERMS, DEFINITION AND ABBREVIATIONS

1. INTRODUCTION

2. OVERVIEW OF THE BURKINA CHILD PROTECTION HUMANITARIAN SYSTEM

3. GUIDING PRINCIPLES AND APPROACHES

4. STRATEGY FOR IMPLEMENTATION

5. PROGRAMME AREAS OF CHOICE

6. RESULTS FRAMEWORK

Annex 1: Outline of the Child Protection Humanitarian Action Operational Strategy 2019-2021 - Child Protection Interventions &

Minimum Response Package

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TERMS, DEFINITION AND ABBREVIATIONS

4W : What Who Where When Why

AGD : Age, Gender and Diversity

CFS : Child Friendly Spaces

CMTF : Case management task force

CP : Child Protection

CPSWG : Child Protection Sub-Working Group

CPSWG : Child Protection Sub-working Group

DRC : Danish Refugee Council

GBV : Gender Based Violence

IASC : Inter-Agency Standing Committee

IDP : Internally Displaced Population

MFNSFHA : Ministry of women, national solidarity, family and humanitarian action

NGO : Non-Governmental Organization

OCHA : Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

SEA : Sexual exploitation and abuse

SOP : Standard Operating Procedures

UNHCR : United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

UNICEF : Fonds des Nations unies pour l'enfance

UNMAS : United Nations Mine Action Service

WASH : Water, Sanitation and Hygiene

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1. INTRODUCTION

Burkina Faso is currently witnessing an increase in armed hostilities both local and international non-state armed groups allying with criminal networks and exploiting underlying social tensions. The insecurity is affecting areas in the north-west, north, centre north, east parts of the country, along border areas with Mali, Niger, Benin and Togo. The current emergency can be characterized a protection emergency affecting a total of 4.9 million people (and some 300,000 in Burkina Faso; 57% children). The ongoing conflict in Mali and the Lake Chad Basin and the prolonged displacement also increases the pressure on the limited resources and (social) protection coping measures of families are stretched to limits, many of whom count among the world’s poorest communities.1 Over 288,0002 people are now displaced in Burkina Faso and most of the displaced have sought refuge in other communities or in displacement sites mostly in the country's regions of Centre-Nord, Est, Nord and Sahel. In the armed conflict-affected regions, some 131,000 children have limited access to child protection services due to insecurity and armed attacks. While the humanitarian organizations are supporting the government in providing emergency assistance to the affected people, persistent violence remains an impediment to an effective response. With more than 98 per cent of the internally displaced population (IDP) currently living in host communities, depending for most part on the already limited humanitarian aid available. This situation puts further strain on the existing fragile situation and community-based and family social protection support systems. Notwithstanding, relevant government ministries and in partnership with child protection humanitarian actors are currently addressing three key challenges in implementing effective responses: identifying and reaching IDPs in host settings with child protection humanitarian assistance, addressing the urgent child protection concerns, and supporting children and their families/caregivers in local integration.

The child protection humanitarian sector is faced with three key challenges in developing effective responses that include - identifying and reaching armed conflict affected displaced population, with a focus on households with vulnerable and at-risk children; addressing their urgent protection concerns (multifaceted and interconnected needs) and supporting local integration in host settings; and the need for operational guidance on how to bring together area-based approaches addressing specific needs of affected population, with a focus on children, in conflict affected communities and host communities or settings. In this regard, the child protection humanitarian sector is complementing the efforts of the government and contributing towards systems strengthening to address the structural causes of humanitarian needs and build resilience of the most vulnerable populations by adopting a new strategy in integrating humanitarian and development planning as an essential step towards longer-term response.

In addition, significant strides have been achieved in ensuring that girls and boys with urgent child protection needs are identified and receive age- and culturally-appropriate information as well as an effective, multi-sectoral and child-friendly response from relevant providers working in a coordinated and accountable manner. The programme is also optimising and using existing national and sub-national child protection systems from the outset by working with local actors in order to support those systems, so that they can cope with increased demand for services and prevention. The Child Protection Humanitarian Operational Strategy 2021 is guiding the actions of all relevant stakeholders in providing appropriate and child protection humanitarian services, including investments in prevention. It defines three strategic aims and enabling actions for the government and child protection actors in order to achieve a common vision: 1. Save lives, enable vulnerable families affected by armed conflict, including host communities, to improve the wellbeing of

girls and boys. 2. Promote and strengthen community-based child protection support mechanisms. 3. Scale-up and accelerate girls and boys access to child protection systems and services.

1 40.1% of the population is living under the poverty official line : 2 https://www.humanitarianresponse.info/sites/www.humanitarianresponse.info/files/documents/files/20190906situation_de_deplaces.pdf

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2. OVERVIEW OF CHILD PROTECTION RISKS, VULNERABILITIES, AND NEEDS

In the Sahel, extreme poverty, climate change, armed conflict and insecurity continue to threaten the lives of millions already living on the brink. These interdependent drivers are behind the staggering levels of structural, chronic and acute vulnerability present in the region. The trans-national armed violence across Sahelian countries has led to large-scale displacement, affecting a total of 4.9 million people (OCHA, 2018 source(s))3. As of august, 31 2019, Burkina Faso hosts some 25,7194 Malian refugees mostly in the Sahel region who fled the 2012 political crisis and are unlikely to return home (OCHA reference) and will continue to heavily depend on humanitarian assistance and increase the pressure on the limited resources and social protection coping measures for protection, education, food and nutrition, health, water and sanitation. Armed attacks and insecurity continue to affect parts of the country, driving forced displacement and increasing the number of people in need of assistance and protection. By the end of August 2019, some 290,000 internally displaced people were living in host communities or displacement sites in Centre-Nord, Est, Nord and Sahel regions. Increasingly, displaced persons are seeking refuge in or near urban centres such as Djibo and Dori (Sahel) and Kaya (Centre Nord), and secondary displacement, particularly from Sahel to Centre Nord is being reported.

3 https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/Communiqu%C3%A9%20de%20presse%20Sahel%202019.pdf 4 https://data2.unhcr.org/en/documents/details/71249

Figure 1: Child Protection Risks

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The rise in insecurity and armed attacks has forced 2,024 schools (Government of Burkina Faso, Ministry of Education, 24 May 2019) to close, depriving some 330,292 children (158,541 girls) of learning in six regions, including some 9,285 teachers have been affected by the current armed conflict. The northern Sahel region accounts for nearly half of the schools closed (UNICEF reference). However, the persistent violence and limited humanitarian access to the affected population remain as impediments to effective relief response. The data sets enlisted in Fig. 1 above is used to inform the Child Protection humanitarian response is derived from multiple sources that include a meta-analysis of secondary data sources to determine overall trends of child protection risks and concerns. The sources of data include Secondary Data Review (2019) compiled by the Child Protection Area of Responsibility; Child Protection Sub-Working Group monthly programme reports from partners; UNICEF Burkina Faso Child Protection Section field assessment and programme reports; UN OCHA, Burkina Faso Humanitarian Response Plan (2019); UNHCR Synthèse Globale des données des réfugiés maliens au Burkina Faso (Aout, 2019), and DRC: Monitoring report on the protection of internally displaced persons in the provinces of Oudalan and Soum (January to May 2019). Despite this limitation of obtaining primary data sets generated from a Child Protection in emergencies assessment, the Child protection Sub-Working Group will use the available data and information to inform the review and development of the child protection humanitarian operational strategy. It is important to underscore the point that work is underway by the ministère de la femme, de la solidarité nationale, de la famille et de l'action humanitaire (the government agency responsible for humanitarian action) in partnership with and support from UNICEF to conduct a Child Protection in Emergencies Assessment in all conflict affected areas and locations hosting IDPs. Data on Violence Against Children in Burkina Faso (January 2019) estimates that one child out of four in Burkina Faso is affected by at least one type of violence, and children’s home is the first place where violence occurs (estimated as 75% of the cases), while school is second (with some 20% of cases). In this regard, Child Protection actors will address the specific vulnerabilities associated with forced displacement, including risks that affect children in host communities, through a “place-based approach.” This process seeks to make families and communities more engaged, connected and resilient in improving the wellbeing and protection of children.

As part of government policy, humanitarian responses to displacement situations have shifted from camp settings to semi urban and urban areas. For humanitarian actors, this means working outside of their traditional comfort zone and having to adapt their mindset, toolbox and approaches to a different and more complex operating environment, where authorities tend to be more present and play a bigger role. In this regard child protection humanitarian actors are addressing three key challenges in developing effective responses: identifying and reaching displaced population affected by armed conflict with a focus on households with vulnerable and at-risk children; addressing their urgent multifaceted protection concerns (and supporting local integration in host settings; the need for operational guidance on how to bring together area-based approaches addressing specific needs of affected population, with a focus on children, in conflict affected communities and host communities or settings.

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3. GUIDING PRINCIPLES AND APPROACHES

The operational strategy will be implemented in accordance with the following overarching principles.

State Responsibility and Capacity The Government of Burkina Faso has the primarily responsible for the protection of all children and should promote the establishment and implementation of child protection systems in accordance with their national and international obligations, ensuring access to all children under its jurisdiction. The Burkina State will provide durable solutions for children and other populations affected by armed conflict both at the regional, provincial and commune, and programmatic action will be based on dialogue and guidance from government authorities in relation to the government’s own plans for humanitarian action and recovery.

Best Interests of the Child The best interests of the child are a primary consideration for UNHCR in all actions that directly or indirectly affect children. The best interest’s principle establishes that all girls and boys have the right to participate meaningfully in decisions that affect their lives, including in the identification of their best interests.

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The Centrality of Protection All relevant stakeholders must respect the rights of children and affected populations to make an informed and voluntary choice with regard to the solution they would pursue. It is important that measures are taken to avoid disruption of humanitarian interventions, family separation, GBV and other protection incidents linked to the premature and unprepared return of IDPs. Specific attention must be given to the needs of the most vulnerable, including ensuring their prioritized access to basic services and material support, legal assistance, justice, reconciliation, documentation, and essential and specialized services. All interventions should be underpinned in design and implementation by sound gender and social protection analysis. Compliance with human rights and international humanitarian law should form an integral part of the response, while recognizing the legitimate national security concern of the government.

Non-Discrimination Government partners working with child protection agencies will ensure non-discrimination in all policies, procedures and programmes and will support and advocate for the access of refugee, displaced and stateless children to national child protection systems, regardless of their age, gender, ethnicity, religion, nationality, or disability.

Do No Harm All child protection agencies will consider the child’s family, culture and social situation and conduct actions, procedures and programmes in a manner that does not put the child at risk of harm. Protective measures must be tailored to the needs of children and other conflict affected populations and must avoid exposing them to added risk. The needs, rights and legitimate interests of IDPs, refugees, population affected by armed conflict, and host communities will be of the primary considerations guiding all policies and decisions on durable solutions. This strategy and interventions undertaken by all relevant actors must be founded on sound and frequently updated conflict and risk analyses at regional, provincial and community levels, reflection on the interaction (positive and negative) of proposed interventions with conflict dynamics, and adjustments made to increase positive impacts and mitigate risks.

Family and Community-Based Approach Families and communities are central to the care and protection that children need. All child protection agencies will seek to understand, support and build upon existing community-based child protection mechanisms that protect girls and boys. In instances where protection concerns originate from the family or community, child protection agencies will engage and act as an advocate for children to address harmful practices.

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Child Participation State actors and child protection partners will actively support the rights of all boys and girls to participate and express their views in all matters affecting them in accordance with their gender, age, maturity, and capacity. The participation of girls and boys in decisions that affect their lives will be planned and facilitated in a responsible and ethical manner with due regard to confidentiality.

Age, Gender and Diversity The Age, Gender and Diversity (AGD) approach to be adopted by all child protection agencies including relevant government structures ensures that all persons of concern, including girls and boys, and adolescents, enjoy equal rights. It recognizes that children may be affected differently by protection risks as a result of their age, gender, disability and background. The AGD approach increases understanding as to how protection risks can affect girls and boys and adolescents differently and equips staff with the tools to develop appropriate responses.

Community Participation and Accountability State actors and child protection agencies are accountable to the children and communities they work to protect.

Children affected by armed conflict, displaced and IDPs and other populations of concern, returnees, host community

representatives, community leaders and faith-based groups and local government officials need to be fully involved in

the planning and implementation of all humanitarian interventions. Partnering with community-based organizations,

national NGOs and other civil society members to build on their extensive experience and knowledge also needs to be

prioritized by humanitarian and development actors.

Partnership and Linkages Between Humanitarians and Development Actors The Strategic Operational Framework will be implemented by relevant State actors under the coordination of the ministère de la femme, de la solidarité nationale, de la famille et de l'action humanitaire, in partnership with communities and children, UNICEF and other child protection actors and agencies, including the Protection Working Group and its Child Protection Sub-Working Group and other relevant coordination groups and sectors to optimize the opportunities for joint programming, and consistent criteria and processes for joint monitoring and learning. This will involve active collaboration and coordination, joint assessments, programmes and advocacy. It will draw upon the complementarity of resources, knowledge and skills to enhance the protection of children, recognizing the contribution of all actors in building a comprehensive child protection system.

Evidence-based, risk-informed programming Interventions should be based on needs identified and agreed in consultation with children and concerned populations. IDPs settlement and/or relocation must take place in full respect of international standards in line with relevant international law. Relevant stakeholders will invest in strengthening a system wide data collection, analysis informing response, and establishing a repository on protection risks/threats, that adhere to global safety and ethical standards.

Urgency

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The protection of children cannot wait. State actors and child protection partners will prioritize the protection of children

as life-saving activities5 and provide immediate support to their well-being and development, with a view to ensuring

durable solutions to their problems as soon as possible. Timely services, interventions, family tracing and decisions in

children’s best interests are essential. Children’s right to quality education and psychosocial wellbeing needs to be

secured as soon as possible.

4. STRATEGY FOR IMPLEMENTATION

The continued multiple displacement and armed violence in large parts of the country poses enormous challenges on the social, economic and political conditions of the host communities. This crisis threatens to severely roll-back hard-won development gains - it is at once a humanitarian and a development crisis. With limited financial resources and an ever-increasing array of needs in affected countries, all relevant stakeholders involved are clear that the need for a more sustainable response is no longer an option, but an imperative. Child protection actors guided by humanitarian principles and Child Protection Minimum Standards will build on and emphasize intersectoral approaches. Greater emphasis will be placed on strengthening the agencies and resilience of families and communities to cope with adversity, and build upon on the role of allied systems, such as health, social protection and education, to accelerate both preventative actions and response to child protection concerns.

STRATEGY FOR IMPLEMENTATION Five mutually reinforcing change strategies were identified by Child Protection Sub-Working Group (CPSWG) in consideration of the complex nature of humanitarian crisis, and the critical strategic collaboration required by all stakeholders to achieve maximum impact. a) Strategic Partnerships and Localisation

Partnerships with local actors that include national NGOs and community-based organizations are at the core of remote humanitarian action management arrangements and a viable option to deliver child protection services in conflict affected communities. This modality of programme implementation also considers how to minimize harm to affected populations, including children, and the reputational and financial risks arising from weak capacities.

Effective localization is not just about giving financial support to local groups – it is about removing barriers to self-sufficiency, helping to develop organizations that are strong, efficient, effective and accountable. Humanitarian solutions ultimately start and end with communities, and that is why it is crucial that responses be driven locally, including by affected communities and community-based groups.

Through principled humanitarian action, the CPSWG will contribute towards the development and strengthening of national technical and institutional capacities to be able to deliver relevant countrywide services to vulnerable people, sustained for as long as needed. This action will ensure that national actors and organizations have the necessary financial, legal and managerial systems; that they can communicate effectively; that they have robust systems for accountability; and that they are able to learn from a shared culture of innovation and best practice. The Child Protection Working Group shall establish and support a Sub-Working Group at central and regional levels that will be responsible to coordinate all child protection in emergencies in conflict affected areas.

5 Child Protection in Emergencies aims to prevent and respond to the following life-threatening situations / factors: Family

separation of children, sexual and gender-based exploitation and violence, psychosocial distress and mental disorders, recruitment and use of children in armed forces and groups, physical abuse, including landmines and explosive remnants of war.

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b) Whole-System Approach: Beginning at the Household and Building Out

Recognising the scale of population movements, and their impact on host communities and potential longevity of the crisis, both Government and child protection humanitarian actors endorses a resilience-based and sustained development response to the Burkina crisis. State structures and child protection agencies programming approach will emphasize the strengthening of child protection systems for the improved protection of children. The focus of the programme will radiate on preventing violence, exploitation, abuse and neglect, including through strengthening the protective capacities of families, communities and local structures. To make resilience-building a key priority, child protection agencies are committed to identifying, in coordination with government actors, programmatic action where the provision of humanitarian assistance can be responsibly transitioned to increased delivery through national systems (example, using the national case management system), with appropriate partnership support. For those activities which must be responsibly delivered through child protection humanitarian actors, the Child Protection Sub-Working Group is committed to ensuring timely, robust, credible and cost-effective implementation plans are in place. Through this process, the risk of duplicative plans will be mitigated.

Considering the household as the heart of a child protection system for children affected by humanitarian crises, Child protection actors will use the recently developed guidelines on community-based mechanisms by the ministère de la femme, de la solidarité nationale, de la famille et de l'action humanitaire to ensure a harmonized approach and more sustainable impact. Through an inter-agency effort and collaboration with the Government, the Sector will continue to invest in developing flexible, context-specific, and relational responses between humanitarian and development interventions to avoid programme fragmentation. In this regard, all child protection humanitarian actors will strengthen and use the existing national case management system that include child protection information management system, data collection and reporting tools, standard operating process for child protection case management, personal data and information protection protocols standard operating procedures.

c) Effective Disaster Management6 (Preparedness and Response)

While the immediate goal of the emergency response operation is to save lives and respond to basic humanitarian needs, it is also important to build for the long term through preparedness and community resilience. Effective disaster management involves ensuring that preparedness, response, and recovery efforts are coordinated among all child protection partners, including relevant governments institutions, other humanitarian agencies and civil society and the private sector.

6 Effective disaster management or disaster response can be defined as providing the technology, tools and practices that enable

disaster response organizations to systematically manage information from multiple sources and collaborate effectively to assist survivors, mitigate damage and help communities rebuild.

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Child Protection partners shall integrate risk reduction and emergency response to be able to effectively engage in preparedness, response and recovery operations. In addition, will ensure that a viable mechanism will exist for the rapid, rational and transparent disbursement of funds to support the emergency, and scale-up feasible delivery mechanisms and coverage of child protection and psychosocial support services to children and families in hard to reach communities and with limited resources, including birth registration, prevention and response interventions to address gender-based violence interventions, and pursue coherent approaches required and options available to support children allegedly associated with armed groups. Service delivery in Burkina Faso is not only technical task but also a governance process. The quality and availability of adequate service is a key measure of governance. Using the 4W’s data sets, the CPSWG will review existing partnership arrangements and service delivery points and will seek prudent mechanisms to deliver child protection services in remote and high threat settings.

d) Integrated and Multi-Sectoral Programming Approach

There is a growing recognition that the rights and needs of vulnerable children and families are complex, multifaceted, interrelated and interdependent and these multiple risks are best addressed within a coordinated and integrated approach. With service delivery at the core of this crisis response, the CP humanitarian sector partners will strengthen and leverage on other sectors to deliver services to children. In crisis contexts when resources are limited, and capacities overstretched, integrated programming in the areas of nutrition, child protection, early childhood development, WASH and education, provides a unique opportunity for a set of essential services to complement each other. For example, child protection humanitarian response programme will advance the collaboration with social protection in cash transfers plus and safety nets to include households with child protection risks However, child protection actors will be mindful of the operational challenges that accompany multi-sectoral platforms for planning and implementation. It is noteworthy to highlight that a key principle underlying the multi-sectoral approach is that the rights and needs of survivors are pre-eminent, in terms of access to respectful and supportive services, guarantees of confidentiality and safety and the ability to determine the course of action for addressing the incident.

e) Community-based Child Protection Mechanisms7

As the current humanitarian crisis evolves, the capacity of communities and caregivers is stretched to breaking points as children face new and exacerbated protection risks such as family separation, abuse and exploitation and recruitment into armed forces and groups. In order to mitigate those risks, child protection humanitarian actors will support and strengthen the protective capacity of families and communities, who are the first point of call and primary duty-bearers when it comes to the protection of vulnerable children.

Providing opportunities for communities to participate and lead in humanitarian response is crucial. Child protection humanitarian actors will identify and strengthen existing child protection structures at community level, including collaboration and linkages with the formal system, promoted the use of formal services and achieved increased ownership, effectiveness, and sustainability of the system. In Burkina Faso, despite Government’s efforts to decentralize social services and intersectoral CP networks at commune level, initiatives to involve and strengthen community-based CP initiatives in the national system remained limited. Nevertheless, following sustained advocacy of UNICEF and other partners, in May 2019, the

Ministry of women, national solidarity, family and humanitarian action (MFNSFHA) has developed guidelines for

7 A community-based child protection mechanism is a network of individuals at community level who work toward child protection goals. Effective mechanisms include local structures and processes that promote or support the wellbeing of children.

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the establishment of community protection units to mobilize leaders at the village level. This is a significant step towards the strengthening of the CP system especially in this context of humanitarian crisis.

5. PROGRAMME AREAS OF CHOICE The Strategies for Implementation outlined above are necessary steps toward increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of the CPSWG partners humanitarian work. With more than 95 per cent of the internally displaced population (IDP) currently living in host communities, depending for most part on the already limited humanitarian aid available, this situation puts further strain on the existing fragile situation and community-based and family social protection support systems. Notwithstanding, relevant government ministries and in partnership with child protection humanitarian actors are currently addressing three key challenges in implementing effective responses: identifying and reaching displaced population in host settings, including affected population that never moved with child protection humanitarian assistance, addressing the urgent child protection concerns, and supporting children and their families/caregivers in local integration.

Managing the challenges of urban displacement calls for a people-in-places approach that builds on existing government and service structures to improve living conditions and protection for all children. It ensures that understanding and responding to the needs of the affected population, especially vulnerable children and their caregivers, and their hosts, will be complemented by measures to support local governance, child protection structures and service providers.

As the overarching consideration is to mitigate avoidable suffering and vulnerabilities using all effective means, the Child protection Sub-Working Group seek to organize humanitarian action effectively and efficiently through three key Actions of Choice as illustrated below.

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ACTION OF CHOICE 1

Family Strengthening

During armed conflict, displacement is often a survival mechanism and may lead to the loss of productive assets resulting in a major economic shock from which affected population may not recover. Being forced to leave behind one’s home, relationships, assets and work is a stressful experience. It is even more so when people have to flee unexpectedly, prompted by violent events, and the trauma of displacement compounds the suffering caused by the death or disappearance of a family member, or by other abuses that people endured or witnessed prior and during flight. If they continue to face insecurity and violence in their displacement location – for example, because they remain in the conflict affected communities, exposed to the effects of military operations, or due to direct threats against them – this can further undermine their mental well-being. With weakened social support networks, having to rely on external help to survive undermines people’s self-esteem and sense of dignity, especially if they used to be economically independent before displacement. In turn, the psychological effects of displacement can hamper people’s ability to adapt to the new situation and regain self-sufficiency. The additional stress affects caregivers’ well-being, compounded by economic hardships and social isolation, change in family composition and roles due to death, divorce and forced separation and the loss of protective community mechanisms. These can result in an increased incidence of children’s exposure to interfamilial conflict, violence or neglect. Children are also more likely to be exposed to and may adopt harmful coping strategies, such as child labour, sexual exploitation, child marriage and child recruitment.

Action of Choice 1 : Assist vulnerable families affected by armed conflict,

including host communities, to improve the wellbeing of girls and boys

Action of Choice 2 : Strengthen community-based child protection

support mechanisms

Action of Choice 3 : Scale-up and accelerate girls and boys access to child protection systems and services

Strategic

Interventions

Figure 2: Three Prong Actions of Choice

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In this regard, investing in family-strengthening, including access to basic social services and economic support, training in parenting skills, and support for stable relationships between a child’s parents, is fundamental to helping families stay together.

Strategic Outcome Vulnerable families and caregivers with children affected by armed conflict, including host communities, are supported to mitigate the negative effects of adversity through a strengthened and protective family environment

Key Actions

Household Economic Strengthening - Support community-based programmes to strengthen families and to keep families together through the economic

strengthening of households. This comprises a portfolio of interventions such as cash transfers plus, income generation activities, small grants for business, provision of productive assets, and community-managed microfinance, etc. to reduce the economic vulnerability of families and empower them to provide for the essential needs of the children they care for, rather than relying on external assistance

- Integrate evidence-informed, child-protection programming across sectors, including health, nutrition, education, labour, social welfare, security, justice, and humanitarian response, to reduce children’s vulnerability;

- This component will be implemented as part of an integrated package of service delivery and multisectoral approach with the aim and potential to mitigate conflict induced risk behaviours and improve care and child protection outcomes.

Supporting Positive Parenting and Psychosocial Support - Support community-based programs to strengthen families and to keep families together through the development

of parenting skills and healthy relationships; improve and increase access to quality social services, all adapted to address different family structures

- Strengthen community and family supports through structured (Identify, assess and support families (individuals) community-based mental health and psychosocial support services (recreational and cultural activities including drama, movement, music, and art), including referrals to local service providers for more specialized psychological support

- These interventions are aimed to increase resilience or enhancing specific coping mechanisms, and implemented by trained non-specialised personnel such as community workers, teachers, and school counsellors

Strengthening family and community-based alternative care - Strengthen national and local legislation, policies, and systems for family support and systems to care for and protect

children - Invest in the development of national systems to identify, enumerate, and document children who are, or at risk of,

living outside of family care, including those living on the street, and associated with armed groups, or who are trafficked or are experiencing emergencies, including temporary separation from their families

- Raise public awareness of the imperative that children should grow up in families and the risk factors that cause children to live outside of family care

- Support family-based care, including through the development of gatekeeping processes, including family tracing, reunification and reintegration of children who are unaccompanied during emergencies and humanitarian crises, including those in trafficked, on the street, formerly in armed groups. Where reunification cannot support the safety and well-being of a child, other family-based care options will be promoted, such as kinship, foster care, and keeping siblings together whenever possible

- Strengthen the capacities of parents, other caregivers, and outreach support services to enable children with disabilities to live in family care, with access to inclusive education and other essential services

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ACTION OF CHOICE 2

Strengthen community-based child protection support mechanisms - the call to ‘localise’ protection

Amidst a rapidly changing environment, with large-scale displacement and population movements pose myriad challenges to organising effective child protection. However, in Burkina Faso, child protection community mechanisms are an essential component of wider child protection systems. Strategically, community level mechanisms, such as child protection committees, are useful in part because they interconnect different levels of national child protection systems. The strengthening of community-level mechanisms of child protection can be a crucial step in developing effective national child protection systems in both humanitarian and development settings. At the core of the CPSWG CMTF workplan for 2019-2021 is the objective of engaging local and national actors more meaningfully, including the support to community-based child protection groups as a viable community resources that potentially can support child protection in emergencies through a family-oriented or individually oriented casework approach. However, there is need to identify durable solutions on how to strengthen the existing community-based structures and mechanisms, and how child protection actors can meaningfully engage communities’ sense of agency, their values, and their own human, physical and cultural resources in emergencies and development settings.

Strategic Outcome Community-based child protection structures in armed conflict impacted communities have strengthened technical capacities to prevent and respond to violence against children.

Key Actions I. Reviewing and establishing community-based structures: form and function - Conduct a systematic programme review of the impact, reach and effectiveness of the of existing community-based

mechanisms and child protection structures and use the results from the reviews to feed back in appropriate form to affected communities to strengthen positive programme outcomes for children.

- Support the establishment and strengthening of community-based child protection groups by using a dialogue-oriented, culturally sensitive approaches. Such an undertaking will entail the mapping of existing capacities and resources and builds upon the latter in a process that promotes community ownership, minimises problems of imposition and backlash, and gradually addresses the full spectrum of child protection threats.

II. Enhance technical capacities of community-based structures - Developing and strengthening improved systems of training and capacity-building This will include follow-up support and

supervision mechanisms that enable community-based child protection groups to perform their multiple functions in an effective manner.

- Conducting all work on community-based child protection groups in a manner that supports healthy national child protection systems. At all phases of work, develop effective linkages with the national system and interlinkages between community-municipal/provincial and regional levels coordination mechanisms.

III. Service provision - Scaling-up and strengthen community-based mechanisms to monitor, identify, report and respond to child protection risks

and fill identified programme gaps, assigning higher priority to issues such as family violence, GBV, psychosocial support, and protection for very young children. Taking into the different geographic context, the CPSWG will identify effective approaches to addressing one or several of these issues and disseminating lessons that can help to guide effective practice.

- Mobilising communities to establish early warning and surveillance systems The capacities of communities will be harnessed and strengthened to develop and effectively use child protection early warning systems, an essential component of the community-based disaster risk management. Community-based early warning systems involve community driven collection and analysis of information that enable warning messages to help a community to react to a child protection hazard and reduce the resulting harm to children.

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In this regard, four elements will be of interest - communities will have the capacity to identify and map child protection risk; establish monitoring and warning services; set up and use warning dissemination and communication platforms; and undertake emergency response as required.

- Planning for and take systematic steps to promote sustainability. Work in emergency contexts shall be done with an eye toward supporting community ownership and long-term development. Programmes will link and collaborate with the government, strengthening the structures at various levels that support the work of community-based child protection groups. A crucial step for the CPSWG and the concerned government structures is to develop and use realistic sustainability plans right from the onset of the emergency response.

ACTION OF CHOICE 3

Scale-up (scope, reach and quality) and accelerate girls and boys access to child protection systems and services

There is a growing recognition among Child Protection partners, including government entities, that conflict-induced humanitarian crisis and forced displacement in Burkina Faso requires a development response to complement humanitarian assistance. It is also noteworthy to highlight that the Child Protection in emergencies programme will strengthen the existing national child protection systems, both formal and informal, and contribute towards the building of longer-term resilience among affected population and their host communities. Within the framework of Strategy 2021 and the overall direction set by the Burkina Faso Revised Humanitarian Plan, the Action of Choice 3 contains four key work areas: a) Strengthening the continuum of services spanning prevention and response at all levels b) Building and supporting national child protection systems and ensuring minimum child protection service

standards for girls and boys c) Expanding and supporting social services workforce for child protection at provincial, district and community level d) Improving governance structure, including coordination mechanisms across government departments, between

levels of the humanitarian sectors and working groups

Strategic Outcome Girls and boys with specific child protection needs identified and ensured their access to child protection systems and appropriate support and specialized services, and according to age and needs.

Key Actions The Minimum Standards for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action and related documents, the revised Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) Guidelines for Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Emergency Settings, and the IASC Guidelines for Integrating Gender-Based Violence Interventions in Humanitarian Action, the Child Protection Sub-Working Group will guide the investment in prevention and inform service delivery using best interests procedures and upholding child safeguarding policies and practices to be developed. All child protection humanitarian actions will be informed by programming risk, mitigation analysis and response.

I. Accelerating and strengthening the continuum of services spanning prevention and response at all levels - central-regional-provincial-commune and municipality

- Child Protection actors will aim to strengthen the operational effectiveness and expand the existing case management systems as part of child protection system to ensure that girls and boys with (urgent) child protection needs are identified and receive age appropriate as well as an effective, multi-sectoral and child-friendly response from relevant providers working in a timely, coordinated and accountable manner.

- Child Protection agencies will establish agreed vulnerability eligibility criteria for targeting and prioritisation, review current standards of care to include emergency situations.

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Sous-groupe de travail sur la protection de l'enfance

- The Ministère de la femme, de la solidarité nationale, de la famille et de l'action humanitaire and the interagency Child Protection Sub-Working Group will review and standardise the existing child protection case management information management for case management tools that include the following - data collection and reporting tools, Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), Data Protection Protocols, Information Sharing Protocols (ISPs) in line with national and international standards and legal frameworks and the CP information management system+.

- Child Protection case management actors technical capacity will be strengthened in the roll-out and application of these tools, and have in place a clear, coherent child protection case management in emergencies approaches and coordination procedures.

II. Building and supporting child protection systems at all levels and ensuring minimum child protection

service standards for girls and boys - CP actors will undertake the following interventions to address the prioritized child protection needs using case-based

programming approach that contributes to the strengthening of the national child protection systems:

a) Improving prevention and multisectoral response to gender-based violence (GBV) - Emphasis will be placed on strategies that contribute to both prevention, risk mitigation and improved access to

care services for survivors: sensitizing communities, especially adolescents about child marriage and sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA) in emergencies.

- In coordination with the GBV Sub-Working Group, CP agencies aims to improve the access of survivors (women, girls and boys) to integrate and improve quality (timely, safe, age appropriate, disability and gender-sensitive) multi-sectoral assistance (medical, psychosocial, legal / judicial, socioeconomic reintegration) to survivors by qualified personnel, while ensuring the availability of post-rape kits in collaboration with the health sector for survivors of GBV in priority areas

- Priority will also be given to improving the availability and use of GBV data analysis taking into account a broader geographical coverage of GBVIMS and an assessment of the quality of services for advocacy and improving response.

- With specific reference to the prevention and response to SEA during the humanitarian crisis, safe, accessible, child-sensitive mechanisms for reporting will be developed and rolled out, and survivor assistance is provided through GBV or child protection programming.

b) Strengthening community-based and person-focused mental health and psychosocial support services - The humanitarian crisis continues to weaken community support structures and services for children’s safety and

well-being, halt access to education and hamper parents’ capacity to provide safe environments and nurturing care. Ultimately, children’s resilience and development suffer. Building on available resources and capacities by working with local groups, supporting self-help and strengthening existing resources, CP actors will integrate support systems so that MHPSS in other emergency response measures or systems (including health systems).

- In addition, CP actors will provide community-based Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Service that enhances children reliance and coping mechanism under a three-tier approach: Supporting psychosocial activities for children: This includes providing children with culturally and age appropriate, safe and stimulating activities such as informal learning, peer counseling, sports and activities, play and games, and activities that develop children’s life skills and coping mechanisms. The platform for delivering psychosocial support services will include and not limited to Child Friendly Spaces (CFS) and other modalities of community safe spaces.

- Supporting caregivers and other community members to better support children: This involves providing key messages about care of children, and engaging parents and community members (such as religious actors, youth or women’s networks) in dialogue about how they can better support children. Re-activating family, social and community networks and groups is one critical strategy for enabling psychosocial recovery that will be pursued as well.

- Ensuring children in contact with social services and families with more severe psychological or social problems have access to professional help: CP social workers will identify and refer children and families who experience problems that cannot be managed only by their existing social support networks to services supported by organizations specialized in such issues. However, to do this, the general understanding of mental health issues and acceptance of these persons requiring specialised support needs to be promoted at the community level.

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c) Improving prevention of separation and accelerating family tracing and reunification services and family-based care or appropriate community-based alternative care services for unaccompanied and separated girls and boys - CP actors will contextualize family separation in consideration of the fact separation can result from a variety of

causes, and characterized by different scale and scope, and that it can be prevented. - Social services workers from government at provincial, commune and municipality levels and child protection

agencies social workers will work collaboratively with displaced persons and communities, and other humanitarian agencies, to prevent the separation of children from their families, protect the integrity of the family or care-giver, and avoid humanitarian policies and practices which may inadvertently cause family-child separation (DO NO HARM Principle).

- At provincial level, child protection actors will work with the Division of Child Protection and Social Services will offer their support to communities own efforts to care for its unaccompanied children, establishing family links and undertake the identification and reunification of missing children.

- Efforts will be made to include a situational assessment, and the identification, documentation, and immediate care and protection of unaccompanied children, including emergency alternative care services that include kinship and foster care. Care standards and protection for unaccompanied and separated children will be developed and rolled out to support children deprived of family care.

- Unaccompanied children will be individually assessed and, when necessary, given culturally appropriate, and gender sensitive, physical and legal protection as their individual circumstances require, including reintegration assistance.

d) Increasing girls and boys formerly associated with armed groups, including those in detention, and other children affected by armed conflict, access to recovery, social and economic reintegration assistance - The operational environment in which humanitarian organizations provide emergency assistance is complex, fluid

and crowded with parties to conflict (mostly non-state armed groups) that commit grave violations against children. It is important to highlight that increasingly children alleged as, accused of, or recognised as having committed an offence against national security because of their alleged association with non-state armed groups or participated in hostilities, are detained by the State.

- The programme will work with the appropriate State authorities and use community-based mechanisms to prevent child recruitment and use by armed groups

- In collaboration with all relevant actors, the child protection interagency group will support and strengthen community-based child protection and child rights monitoring, reporting and response mechanisms to identify, monitor, report and respond to child rights violations.

- Strategic advocacy efforts will be made by CP actors and the UN system to establish a joint taskforce with the relevant government entities to develop and implement a roadmap on the treatment of children allegedly associated with armed groups and detained on national security related charges, including child-specific procedures and safeguards based on international standards

- Provide appropriate trainings for those working in the administration of justice for children, including police and prison staff, judges, and legal officers on how to apply customary international law and rules in their work with children associated with armed groups.

- Develop protocols and standard operating procedures in collaboration with relevant actors for the handover of children associated with armed groups to the competent government authority and UNICEF

- Implement reintegration assistance programmes including community- based diversion measures to children already in detention facilities including support to community peace building initiatives

e) Responding timely and efficiently to armed conflict related physical violence, dangers and injuries suffered by girls and boys - Parents and caregivers are central in protecting children against physical violence and harmful practices and

promoting their wellbeing. The awareness and understanding about violence of communities, families and children is an important starting point for engaging them in prevention and response activities.

- CP agencies will work with local communities and government focal ministries, and in collaboration with UNMAS to strengthen the capacities of national and local stakeholders in order to prevent incidents related to explosive ordnance (explosive remnants of war and improvised explosive devices). Most affected children and their communities will be educated on how to manage related explosive ordnance risks. These prevention activities will

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include IED Risk Education and other related efforts undertaken with strict respect to ‘Do No Harm’ and the principles which guide humanitarian assistance (humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence).

III. Expanding and supporting social services workforce for child protection at provincial, district and community level

- Ministère de la femme, de la solidarité nationale, de la famille et de l'action humanitaire and in close collaboration with other government ministries such as Justice and in partnership with CP agencies, work is underway to strengthen and expand the existing social services workforce at the provincial and community levels.

- The investment in the social service workforce will bolster all other efforts to strengthen the child protection system in a sustainable manner, including enforcement and implementation of policies and laws, operability and effectiveness of case management systems, and service delivery. The key interventions will include the following - + CP actors will build alliances with the relevant government structures in a bid to strengthen leadership and

advocacy among stakeholders + Map and assess the existing and necessary cadres of social service workforce at community level to support

casework + Review and update the competencies of para-social workforce and curricula, ensuring curricula include a

balance of local knowledge and international best practices for improving the well-being of children and families + Develop /strengthen systems and methods to improve the workforce through supervision, and addressing

burnout, secondary trauma, and family/work balance + Developing tools, resources, and initiatives to improve job satisfaction and retention

IV. Improving and strengthening existing child protection coordination mechanisms

- There are existing child protection coordination structures and mechanism for development programming at national and subnational levels in Burkina Faso. These structures and mechanism under the coordination and co-leadership of Ministère de la femme, de la solidarité nationale, de la famille et de l'action humanitaire and UNICEF will be maintained and strengthened.

- Due to the ongoing emergency, relevant government ministries and child protection agencies supporting child protection humanitarian response have agreed to establish child protection sub-working groups an national and sub-national levels to ensure accountability to affected populations, especially children in need of care and protection, facilitate decentralized decision making and shorten response time, strengthen the capacity of responders and undertake joint advocacy on strategic child protection concerns.

- The Child Protection Sub-Working Group has a dedicated CP SWG Coordinator, personnel from the responsible Ministry of Social Services, to facilitate a coordinated humanitarian response.

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Burkina Faso

Sous-groupe de travail sur la protection de l'enfance

STRATEGIC OUTCOME Girls and boys, particularly the most vulnerable, affected by a humanitarian crisis, are protected from all forms of violence, abuse, exploitation and harmful practices, and benefit from equitable child protection services.

ACTIONS OF CHOICE

Assist vulnerable households affected by armed conflict, including host communities, to improve the wellbeing of girls and boys

Strengthen community-based child protection support mechanisms

Scale-up (scope, reach and quality) and accelerate girls and boys access to child protection systems and services

- Support vulnerable households of IDPs and host communities economic strengthening, including cash transfer plus and sustainable livelihoods

- Support positive parenting and psychosocial support.

- Strengthen family and community-based alternative care

- Review the impact, reach and effectiveness of the of existing community-based mechanisms and child protection structures and strengthen such structures

- Scale-up and strengthen community-based mechanisms to monitor, identify, report and respond to child protection risks

- Mobilize communities to establish early warning and

surveillance systems

- Strengthen technical capacity and interlinkages between community-municipal/provincial and regional levels coordination mechanisms

- Strengthen the case management system at central, regional, provincial and commune and municipality levels

- Build and support national child protection systems and

ensure minimum child protection service standards for girls and boys

- Community-based psychosocial support services and specialized mental health; Physical violence, dangers and injuries; Gender-based violence prevention and response, including harmful practices; Unaccompanied and separated children; Justice for children, including children associated with armed groups

- Expand and support social services workforce for child

protection at provincial, district and community level

- Increase and strengthen coordination mechanisms of Child Protection humanitarian action

CHANGE STRATEGIES

Whole-system strengthening

- Strengthen case management systems at central to commune levels

- Improve prevention, monitoring, reporting and evidence building

- Increase and strengthen policy dialogue and coordination

- Expand and sustain social services workforce

Promote strategic partnerships - Expand multi-sectoral and integrated

programming - Foster coordination and strengthen

interventions across sectors Sustain financing mechanisms

- Expand and leverage partnership arrangements for effective and efficient service delivery

Localize child protection and remote management of CP humanitarian action

- Increase and support investments in the institutional capacities of local and national stakeholders

- Support and complement national coordination mechanisms

- ' Localize protection' - support and strengthen local communities: first and last protection providers

Effective disaster management - Identify emergency response, early

warning and preventive measures - Identify adaptation measures to mitigate

risks - Accelerate and scale-deep child

protection and related services

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Sous-groupe de travail sur la protection de l'enfance

PROGRAMME TARGETS AND FUNDING NEEDS ▪ It is estimated that 112,000 children (52% girls) need child protection services, including those from host communities.

▪ Approximately 16,000 Malian refugee children and 3,000 Burkinabe returnees reported in the North region.

▪ Estimated funding required - USD$14,700,000 is required to support the Child protection Humanitarian sector. ▪

KEY CHILD PROTECTION TARGETS BY 2020 Community-based mental health and psychosocial support services, including access to child-friendly spaces with intersectoral programming interventions for 269,000 8girls and boys in humanitarian situations

100% of unaccompanied and separated girls and boys documented have access to family tracing, reunification or appropriate alternative care services, and reintegration opportunities

12 provinces have effective community-based mechanisms* as part of child protection system to protect girls and boys, including children with disabilities and children in hazardous child labour

Risk mitigation, prevention or response interventions to address gender-based violence for 80% of girls and boys strengthened in humanitarian situations

45 provinces have effective case management systems and capacity in place to provide timely and appropriate child protection services

KEY INDICATORS

Percentage/number of children [and caregivers] accessing mental health and psychosocial support (M/F)

Percentage/number of unaccompanied and separated children accessing family-based care or appropriate alternative services (M/F)

Number of communities with functioning community-based child protection mechanisms

Number of children and women accessing gender-based violence risk mitigation, prevention or response interventions

Number (No) of districts in conflict affected provinces with functioning child protection case management processes in place

8 Child Protection sectoral targets HNO 2020