Cameroon
Facts
A total of
15,517
people in need received our assistance in 2017.
Humanitarian overview
Since 2014, Boko Haram attacks in Cameroon have continued to wreak havoc in the Lake Chad Basin region, forcing thousands to seek refuge in Cameroon’s Far North region to escape the violence. Nearly 87,630 Nigerian refugees, 241,000 internally displaced people and 60, 000 returnees live here.
Attacks by Boko Haram in the Far North have created urgent needs, particularly among women and girls.The infrastructure also struggles to meet the needs of the growingnumber of displaced people.
Most have sought refuge in informal settlements with little or no basic services, as well as host communities,where resources are limited and tensions have been on the rise. 2.6 million people are food insecure in the region including 1.5 million children. Many of the displaced have become victims of sexual or economic exploitation.
Many people have lost their civil documentation, and are therefore restricted in their movements. Nearly 80 percent of school-aged children in the most affected areas do not possess birth certificates, limiting their chances of completing their education.
People we helped in Cameroon in 2017
NRC’s operation
In response to the growing number of people fleeing their homes in the Lake Chad Basin area, we opened a country office in April of 2017. Since then, we have responded to the urgent needs of the most vulnerable, displaced people in the conflict-affected areas in the Far North region. Our teams are providing emergency and permanent shelter kits and non-food items, access to water, education, food and livelihoods and civil documentation.
Information, counselling and legal assistance (ICLA)
We identifychallenges related to civil documentation and provide free information, counselling and legal assistance to displaced and returnee populations. Our teams:
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visit communities to register cases and counsel displaced people who lack identity documents and birth certificates
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organise group information sessions
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support displaced people who encounteradministrative hurdles in accessing civil documentation
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support registrar’soffices with birth certificate registers to facilitate the transcription of birth certificate records
We alsoconducted a study on Housing, land and property (HLP) in the region, where our experts are:
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visiting communities to register HLP related cases and counsel displaced people on their HLP rights
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training the humanitarian NGOs on HLP rights as cross cutting issues
Shelter and settlements
The increasing number of displaced people has created great need for shelter. We work to ensure thatdisplaced peopleand returnees have dignified shelters for physical protection. Our teams:
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distributemosquito nets, blankets, sleeping mats, and tools for farming
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provideemergency shelters for displaced populations in informal settings during acute phases of an emergency
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provide material supportwhile constructingpermanent shelters for returnees whose homes were destroyed during the conflict
Water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) promotion
We support local authorities in operating and maintaining water systems that provide drinking water. Our teams:
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distribute hygiene kits including items like soap and cloth for filtering water.
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repair broken boreholes and construct new ones
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train and support Water Management Committees
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support councils with spare parts and borehole maintenance toolkits
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construct emergency and family latrines
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conduct hygiene promotion activities
- Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO)
- United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)
- United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR)
- Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC)
- Office of US Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA)
- Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (NMFA)
- Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida)
