Cameroon: Situation Report, 15 March 2023

HIGHLIGHTS

• North-West and South-West situation report (1-31 January 2023)

• About 54 per cent of schools are still closed in the North-West and South-West regions (NWSW).

• Children continue to be victims of the crisis, with at least two children shot in the leg and another abducted in two separate incidents.

• Health care providers, services, and facilities as well as patients remained vulnerable with continued attacks from parties to the conflict.

• In January alone, more than 15,130 people were displaced from their places of origin due to violence and targeted attacks.

BACKGROUND

Situation Overview / Humanitarian access

In January 2023, the situation in the North-West and South-West regions (NWSW) remained tense, with continued violence and targeted attacks. Armed confrontations and the increased use of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) continued leading to the death, injury, and displacement of civilians.

More than 15,130 people were displaced from their places of origin due to violence and targeted attacks. Most of the current displacements within the NWSW are pendular, with the majority of the displaced persons returning to their place of origin once the security situation allows. Areas most affected by these displacements include Manyu and Meme divisions in the SW, and Menchum, Momo and Mezam divisions in the NW.

Access to education remained a challenge with a high demand in urban areas due to high influx of internally displaced persons (IDPs) from rural areas and continued acts of violence or threats against school staff, students, and premises.

Humanitarian access remained challenging with partners reporting over 52 incidents. Bureaucratic impediments, demands for illegal payments, repeated lockdowns and roadblocks, diversion of humanitarian aid, kidnappings, and the sustained use of IEDs in public spaces and main roads frequented by humanitarian actors in both urban and rural areas, made programming and delivery of humanitarian assistance very challenging. Humanitarian organisations suspended their interventions in Small Ekombe, (Meme division) for about 14 days due to demands of NSAGs for illegal payments in that area. Access to communities around Ndop subdivision in the NW and beyond have remained difficult due to a ban of movement roadblock imposed by NSAGs on the Bamenda-Ndop axis since 27 November 2022. However, humanitarian access, though challenging, has remained possible.

Health care providers, services, and facilities as well as patients remained vulnerable with continued threats and violence from parties to the conflict.

Positive cases of measles were recorded in Mamfe health district in the SW and Benakuma health district in the NW.