Attachments
Rising prices reduce access to food and essential non-food supplies for poor households
KEY MESSAGES
• Inflationary pressures on food products have intensified in Cameroon since the start of the Ukraine war. According to the National Institute of Statistics, Cameroon had a general inflation rate of 6.61 percent in August 2022, which is above the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC) zone inflation threshold of 3 percent. Compared to the same month in 2021, general inflation in August 2022 increased by 7.4 percent in Yaoundé and 6.6 percent in Douala, driven by a 14.5 to 14.9 percent increase in food prices, in particular oils and fats, bread and cereals, and meats. During this period, prices of locally produced food products in these cities also rose by 13.3 to 14.4 percent.
• FEWS NET’s routine monitoring has reported Stressed (IPC Phase 2) and worse outcomes among primarily market-dependent urban poor households, particularly those in Yaoundé and Douala. Although still recovering from pandemic-related income setbacks, they are now either cutting back on the number of meals they eat, exhausting their previous savings, or accruing debt to survive high food prices.
• In the Northwest and Southwest regions, widespread Crisis (IPC Phase 3) area-level outcomes are anticipated from November 2022 to May 2023, as increased market reliance and rising staple food prices exacerbate already low household purchasing power. More and more poor households will see their food consumption deteriorate in line with Crisis (IPC Phase 3) outcomes, exacerbating the lean season experience from March to May 2023.
• Access to own-produced sorghum, maize, and legumes is increasing food availability and diversity and boosting incomes from crop sales for poor households in Logone-et-Chari, Mayo-Sava, and Mayo-Tsanaga divisions of the Far North region, improving outcomes to Stressed (IPC Phase 2) in October. Above-average prices and low incomes continue limiting poor households’ purchasing power for other foods, such as rice and wheat products, and essential non-food items, compelling them to continue employing Stressed coping strategies.