Cameroon Situation Report, 12 October 2021

HIGHLIGHTS

• North-West and South West situation report (1-31 August 2021)

• Over 40,000 people were denied food assistance due to insecurity and roadblocks in the North-West and the South-West regions.

• Four attacks on health facilities were reported including abductions of staff, obstruction of health services, and seizure of assets.

• Doctors Without Borders (MSF) organization downsized its team in the North-West after the government had suspended its activities in December 2020.

• 28 per cent of survivors of Gender-Based Violence are children.

BACKGROUND

Situation Overview

The situation in the North-West and South-West regions (NWSW) remains concerning. Hostilities, armed clashes, increased use of improvised explosive devices (IEDs), in addition to inter-communal clashes between farmers and grazers in Menchum division in the North-West are continuous. The population remains caught in the crossfire, and exposed to violence leading to the displacement of thousands of people. For several weeks, roadblocks have been obstructing humanitarian access, preventing the delivery of aid to affected people. About 8,500 persons were reportedly displaced in August and about 530 persons returned to their areas of origin as they could not cope with the poor living conditions in hosting towns. Most of the reported displacements are pendular. Displaced persons have been returning to their areas of origin within a couple of days seeing the security situation improve.

Increasing security incidents and blockages of major roads in the North-West caused delays, or prevented the delivery of life-saving assistance. This also limited the mobility of aid workers and deprived some vulnerable communities of assistance. 40,000 people did not receive food rations in the two regions where 1.1 million people are severely food insecure in the Cadre Harmonise report, published in March 2021.

Four attacks on health facilities were reported, including the abduction of health personnel for ransom, the removal of patients from ambulances, the seizure of healthcare assets, etc. Doctors Without Borders (MSF) was forced to downsize its teams in the North-West eight months after the government suspended its activities in the region. This led to poor or no access to healthcare for thousands of people who depended on the free healthcare and ambulance services that MSF provided. OCHA continues to engage with regional authorities to enhance the humanitarian health response.

Increased security incidents put children at risk of being caught in crossfires, exacerbating their fears and anxieties, separation from family, abuse and other forms of exploitation. According to the Gender-Based Violence Sub-Cluster (GBV), out of 1,205 GBV cases reported in August, 28 per cent of the survivors are children.