Introduction
9 out of 10 regions in Cameroon are in the grip of 3 complex and separate humanitarian crises: (i) Lake Chad crisis in the country’s Far North (part of Lake Chad and bordering with Nigeria), (ii) the Anglophone crisis in the North-West and South-West regions (where non-state armed groups are fighting the government), and a refugee crisis (iii) from the neighbouring Central African Republic.
Violence and insecurity have uprooted people: Close to 2.2 million people are now internally displaced, returnees or refugees.
These humanitarian emergencies have a considerable impact on the resilience of populations who share their already limited resources and strained basic services with the displaced. Today, 2.5 million of the country's 28 million people are facing acute food insecurity.
What are the needs?
3.4 million people are in need of humanitarian aid in 2024. Humanitarian access remains a major challenge due to insecurity and poor road conditions. The COVID-19 pandemic, and the war in Ukraine, have further increased humanitarian needs and strained an already fragile health system.
In April 2024 alone, 616 security incidents took place in the North-West and South-West (NOSO) regions and the Far North, the highest level of insecurity observed in the past 12 months.
Since 2017, in the North -West and South-West regions, political tensions have turned into violent clashes and a full-blown humanitarian crisis. The conflict has driven over 580,000 people out of their homes within Cameroon and almost 67,000 Cameroonians have sought refuge in neighboring Nigeria. The spillover from this crisis affects the neighboring West and Littoral regions too.
In these 2 anglophone regions, thousands of people continue to suffer from human rights violations and abuses including kidnapping and targeted killings. Women, men, girls, and boys are acutely affected by protection risks.
Food, education and drinking water are the top priority needs for the displaced population in these two regions, followed by shelter and health. The education sector is one of the most affected by the crisis, with different barriers to access education as boycotts, threats and attacks by non-state armed groups on students, personnel and facilities, resulting in 2,245 non-operational schools in the region (corresponding to 68% in the North-West and 39% in the South-West) and approximatively 667,000 school aged children in need of humanitarian education assistance.
In the 2024 lean season, Cameroon is seeing an increase in acute food insecurity caseload of 45% compared to the 2018-2023 average during the same season, with almost 2.5 million people projected to require emergency food assistance (IPC Phase 3+) in the period between June and August 2024.
In the neighboring Central African Republic, violence has resulted since 2013 in a massive influx of refugees in Cameroon’s East, North and Adamawa regions, already chronically vulnerable. There are currently 351,000 Central African refugees in Cameroon. Most of them live in local communities, adding pressure on access to basic services and local resources.
The Lake Chad conflict still affects Cameroon’s Far North region, with killings of civilians, villages being randomly looted or burnt, properties and cattle being stolen and kidnappings. Cameroon hosts over 121,000 Nigerian refugees. Around 453,000 Cameroonians have fled their homes in the region. Farmers are insecure, families are at risk of food shortages, women and girls are exposed to sexual and gender-based violence and healthcare services are reduced to a minimum.
Additionally, the Far North region is prone to climate hazards, such as drought, floods, and disease outbreaks, like cholera, measles, and Mpox.
How are we helping?
In 2024, the EU has initially allocated €21 million in humanitarian aid to support the most vulnerable in the country.
Since 2017, the EU has allocated €178.8 million in humanitarian aid to the country. EU-funded actions in Cameroon are supporting:
- uprooted Cameroonians who found refuge elsewhere in the country
- refugees from Nigeria
EU humanitarian aid focuses on providing food/nutrition, health care, shelter, education , disaster preparedness, protection and safe drinking water and sanitation.
Immediate humanitarian assistance to newly displaced people and refugees remains crucial. However, given the protracted nature of the displacement aid efforts are also being directed at improving their livelihoods, self-reliance and to supporting them with durable solutions.
The European Union also funds flights of the United Nations Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) in the Far North, for humanitarian organisations to have rapid access to remote locations where people are in need.
Last updated: 28/05/2024