Introduction
Nine out of 10 regions in Cameroon are in the grip of 3 complex and separate humanitarian crises: (i) the 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, and (iii) a refugee crisis from the neighbouring Central African Republic.
Violence and insecurity have uprooted people: more than 2.1 million are now internally displaced, returnees or refugees. Today, 2.5 million of the country’s 28 million people are facing acute food insecurity, and 390,000 children are suffering from acute malnutrition.
These humanitarian emergencies have a considerable impact on the resilience of host populations who share their already limited resources and strained basic services with the displaced.
For 6 consecutive years, Cameroon has been on the NRC’s most neglected crisis index, ranking second in the world in 2023.
What are the needs?
In 2025, 3.3 million people in Cameroon will need humanitarian aid. Access remains a major challenge due to insecurity, poor road conditions and most recently, devastating floods.
The security situation in conflict-affected areas is showing a worrying trend, with 2,098 incidents recorded in the first trimester of 2025, an increase of 339 compared to the same period in 2024. In total, 7,035 security incidents were reported in 2024 (3,113 in North-West, 2,398 in South-West and 1,524 in Far North). This figure is nearly double the 4,519 incidents recorded in 2023 and almost triple the number reported in 2022 (2,748).
Since 2017, political tensions in the North-West and South-West regions have escalated into violent clashes, resulting in a full-scale humanitarian crisis. The conflict has displaced over 580,000 people in these regions, with more than 76,000 Cameroonians seeking refuge in neighbouring Nigeria. The spillover from this crisis has also affected the West and Littoral regions.
Thousands in these Anglophone regions continue to suffer from human rights violations and abuses, including kidnapping, sexual and gender-based violence, and targeted killings. Women, men, girls, and boys are acutely affected by protection risks. Banditry, looting and property destruction, tax extortions, movement restrictions (including bridge destructions), and improvised explosive devices contribute to a climate of fear and insecurity.
Food, education, protection and access to safe drinking water are the top priority needs for the displaced population in the 2 regions, followed by shelter and healthcare. The education sector is particularly hard hit by the crisis, with boycotts, threats and attacks by non-state armed groups targeting students, staff and school facilities. As a result, 2,066 schools are currently non-operational in the region (59% functional and 41% non-functional), leaving approximately 488,656 children affected. In 2024, 282 security incidents were recorded in the education sector.
Nearly 2.5 million people in crisis-affected regions are facing acute food insecurity (IPC Phase 3+), representing a 7% increase compared to the same period in 2023.
Since 2013, violence in the neighbouring Central African Republic has led to a massive influx of refugees into Cameroon’s East, North and Adamawa regions, which were already vulnerable. There are currently 284,000 Central African refugees in Cameroon. Most of them live in local communities, placing additional strain on basic services and local resources.
The Lake Chad conflict continues to affect Cameroon’s Far North region, where civilians face killings, looting or burning of villages, theft of properties and cattle, and kidnappings. Cameroon hosts 126,000 Nigerian refugees, while around 453,000 Cameroonians have fled their homes in the region. Farmers struggle with insecurity, families face food shortages, and women and girls are particularly vulnerable to sexual and gender-based violence. Access to healthcare is limited.
Additionally, the Far North region is prone to climate hazards, such as drought, floods, and disease outbreaks, like cholera, measles, and Mpox. Recently, over 200 shelters at IDP sites across Mayo-Sava were destroyed and a child was killed in fires caused by unsafe cooking stoves, high temperatures, and flammable shelter materials.
This region experiences recurrent and intense flooding during the rainy season. Every year these floods hit vulnerable communities already facing challenges such as climate change, droughts, locust invasions, granivorous bird invasions, and elephant invasions. All these add to the region’s highly volatile security situation and structural poverty.
These factors significantly affect the resilience and livelihoods of these communities. In 2024, the Far North divisions of Mayo-Danay and Logone and Chari saw the highest historical levels of floods, with about 450,000 people affected.
How are we helping?
In 2025, the EU has allocated an initial €18 million for humanitarian assistance to support the most vulnerable in the country.
In 2024, the EU allocated €27.6 million in humanitarian aid. This included over €2.1 million in emergency humanitarian aid to respond to the floods that caused devastating human and material losses, to provide life-saving assistance in the areas of health, shelter, essential goods, as well as access to water and sanitation.
Since 2017, the EU has allocated €202 million in humanitarian aid to the country. EU-funded actions in Cameroon are supporting:
- internally displaced Cameroonians
- refugees from Nigeria
- most vulnerable host communities
EU humanitarian aid focuses on providing food/nutrition, healthcare, shelter, education, disaster preparedness, protection and safe drinking water and sanitation.
Immediate humanitarian assistance for newly displaced people and refugees remains crucial. However, due to the prolonged nature of the displacement, aid efforts are also focused on improving livelihoods, promoting self-reliance, and providing support for durable solutions.
Last updated: 25/04/2025
Facts & figures
More than 2.1 million forcibly displaced people in the country (UNHCR, March 2025)
Hosting around 413,000 refugees, mostly from Nigeria and Central African Republic (UNHCR, March 2025)
EU humanitarian funding:
€18 million in 2025
€202 million since 2017