ReliefWeb

Highlights

• From 25-27 April, Marie-Pierre Poirier, UNICEF Regional Director for West and Central Africa Region visited projects in the Far North and East regions to evaluate the humanitarian situation and advocated for the priorities for children, including birth registrations.
• UNHCR and UNICEF with support of WFP donated 30 tons of non-food items including soaps to be distributed in Mamfe and Kumba sub-divisions in South West region for estimated 23,000 people affected by the Anglophone crisis.
• As part of the development of an exit strategy for Temporary Learning and Protective Spaces (TLPSs), a joint mission was conducted to verify the situation of 87 TLPSs at six refugee sites and host community schools in East and Adamaoua regions. The challenge identified is how to accommodate 11,314 children who are currently enrolled in the TLPSs into only 11 host community schools, with additional 7,325 children (both IDPs and host community) expected to reach the school age in 2018.

SITUATION IN NUMBERS

April 2018
1,810,000
# of children in need of humanitarian assistance
3,260,000
# of people in need
(Cameroon Humanitarian Needs Overview 2018)
Displacement 241,000 #of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs)
(Displacement Tracking Matrix 12, Dec 2017)
69,700 # of Returnees
(Displacement Tracking Matrix 12, Dec 2017)
93,100 # of Nigerian Refugees in rural areas
(UNHCR Cameroon Fact Sheet, April 2018)
238,700 # of CAR Refugees in East, Adamaoua and North regions in rural areas
(UNHCR Cameroon Fact Sheet, April 2018)

Situation Overview & Humanitarian Needs

Based on the inter-agency assessment conducted from 25-30 March, Emergency Response Plan for North West and South West Regions is being developed under the leadership of the Humanitarian Coordinator supported by UNOCHA. In addition to some 40,000 IDPs identified at the time of assessment mission, the additional information provided by local NGOs and churches as well as other information from the health districts brought up the total estimated people in need to 160,000 (150,000 for South West, 10,000 for North West). UNICEF coordinated the sectors and developed response plans for WASH and Education, while contributed to the response plans for Health and Protection sectors. A total of four projects have been submitted under WASH, Education, Health and Protection. Meanwhile, the initial distribution of 30 tons of non-food items consisting of blankets, mattress and soaps was completed with the support of churches in Mamfe and Kumba sub-divisions, South West region, to which UNICEF contributed 1,100 cartons of soap covering the needs of estimated 23,000 people for two months.

At Zamai site, Far North region, where some 1,700 people consisting of IDPs and returnees from Nigeria are hosted, low productivity of existing boreholes remains an issue, exacerbated by the pressure imposed by the IDPs and returnees and the host populations. The scabies outbreak adds additional challenge to the residents of this site. In this regard, UNICEF has provided the Regional Health Delegate with 100 litres of Ascabiol to treat this infectious skin disease. As the scabies are related to poor hygiene practices, hygiene promotion activities are planned in May.

At the IDPs site in Kolofata, Far North region, UNICEF is in the process of identifying an enterprise to build sustainable infrastructure for drinking water supply. However UNICEF faces a challenge in attracting an enterprise to realise the borehole construction, most likely due to insecurity in the area.

Needs assessments were conducted by UNICEF in different locations of Mayo Sava and Logone and Chari departments (Makari, Blangoua, Goulfey) in Far North region. Makari was selected due to the presence of a great number of returnees, and Blangoua and Goulfey are at the border area with Chad where UNICEF is implementing a peacebuilding project with UNDP, thus the mission was to evaluate other humanitarian needs for IDPs and returnees. The assessment report is being developed and the preliminary findings indicate strong needs in water, education, child protection for IDPs, returnees and host populations.

With the resurgence of violence in the Central African Republic (CAR), 107 asylum-seekers, majority of them women and children of Christian faith from Bangui and its surroundings fearing reprisal attacks by an armed group, were escorted by the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) to Garoua-Boulai in East region. Asylum seekers informed the authorities that more are expected to arrive.

As part of the development of an exit plan for Temporary Learning and Protective Spaces (TLPSs) set up in 2014 to cater to the needs of refugee children during their massive influx in East and Adamaoua regions, UNICEF in collaboration with Ministry of Basic Education, UNHCR and NGO partners carried out a joint field mission to assess the situation at the 87 TLPSs in six refugee sites. This mission involved a comparative analysis between the needs related to the transfer of students from TLPSs to schools in the host communities for the next school year and the capacity of these schools in terms of teachers and infrastructure (including water and sanitation facilities), equipment, materials and school supplies. The results of the evaluation as well as the budget for the exit plan will be available in May. The assessment revealed the need to transfer 11,314 students from TLPSs to only 11 host schools that are already overwhelmed by 7,038 students who are currently enrolled, and moreover are expecting about 7,325 refugee and host community children who will reach the school age in 2018. This is quite challenging but critical transition given the need for more sustainability and enhanced resilience of the host communities.