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Summary: Full title is: The Sourge of War: Exploring traditional mechanisms of child protection to combat the spread of HIV and AIDS among adolescents in Northern Uganda. In times of war, displaced women and children are at a heightened risk of sexual attack, systematic rape, forced prostitution, and poverty. Displaced people are at a much higher risk than the rest of the population for communicable diseases and other health concerns including HIV and AIDS. The intersection between war, displacement and AIDS is particularly striking in northern Uganda (Acholiland). The war there has resulted in countless deaths, child abductions, widespread violations of human rights, the destruction of the social and economic fabric of society and the displacement of more than half the population. The conflict in northern Uganda, coupled with the horrendous conditions experienced by the majority of the population in displacement camps has contributed to the breakdown of traditional familial structures and value systems. Uganda has won international recognition for its progress in HIV research and prevention in its southern regions. One project that has been particularly successful for reaching adolescent girls in the South emerged from research that assessed the roles of key influential women including paternal aunts (the ssenga) in passing on sexual knowledge to young girls. Based on this research, these findings led to innovative HIV and adolescent sexual health programming. A key concern of leaders in Acholiland is the preservation and reintroduction of cultural practises and culturally appropriate assistance to adolescents who are desperately in need of protection and support. There is already existing Ugandan expertise and experience in the South in designing culturally appropriate prevention programming for adolescent girls. There is much interest from our Southern partners in translating these findings, sharing experience, expertise and training to Northern partners who, by virtue of war, have had much less opportunity to combat the impact of the epidemic, particularly among adolescent girls. Derived from insights gained from our Southern partners, this research will investigate traditional Acholi systems for passing knowledge from one generation to the next, with the view that core concepts can be translated into the current conditions of war and displacement. This research presents an opportunity to re-establish culturally appropriate support for adolescents, and in addition to explore the possibility of restoring intergenerational communication mechanisms. Further information: This report was part of the Canadian International Development Agency's (CIDA) child protection research fund.