Community-based Child Protection as a Strategy for Protecting South Sudanese Refugee Children: A Case Study from Gambella, Ethiopia

This case study describes the role of community-based child protection committees in improving the safety and protection of children in 3 refugee camps in Gambella, Ethiopia.

In December 2013, widespread violence in South Sudan led nearly 300,000 people to flee the country, across the border into Western Ethiopia. Over 80% of the refugees are women and children. The refugee girls and boys face high risks, both during their journey into Ethiopia as well as upon arrival in the camps. Risks of family separation, sexual violence and psychosocial distress are common.

From 2014, Plan International has been responding to the humanitarian needs of children in refugee camps in Kule, Jewi and Pugnido. These camps have a total population of nearly 130,000 refugees, of whom more than 60% are children.