Yaoundé, 20 February - Humanitarian needs in Cameroon have risen by a third this year owing to an upsurge in insecurity and violence, leaving one in six people – mostly women and children – requiring assistance. Today we launch the 2019 Humanitarian Response Plan appealing for US$299 million to provide support to 2.3 million people.

“The humanitarian emergency in Cameroon must remain high on our agenda. We must step up efforts to meet the needs of the affected population, many of whom are surviving in deplorable conditions without assistance,” said Ms. Allegra Baiocchi. the United Nations Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator for Cameroon. “In recent years, funding for humanitarian response has not kept pace with the needs. This means that we have been unable to provide enough food, water or medicine to vulnerable people, treat malnutrition or assist displaced families. This is very worrying as humanitarian needs are likely to continue growing in the coming months,” Ms. Baiocchi said.

In 2018, only 40 per cent of the $320 million needed for humanitarian assistance was received.

This year, around 4.3 million people need urgent assistance. Displacement has risen by 82 per cent compared with 2018. Renewed armed attacks have driven tens of thousands more Nigerians into Cameroon’s Far-North region, which already hosts 138,000 refugees. In North-West and South-West regions, worsening violence has uprooted 437,000 people and forced over 32,000 to seek refuge in neighbouring Nigeria. The East, Adamaoua and North regions host 275,000 Central African refugees.

“We acknowledge the scale of the humanitarian emergency and urge all actors to work with the Government to address the rising needs,” said Mr Paul Atanga Nji, Minister of Territorial Administration (MINAT). “We must also work together to not only ease the suffering of vulnerable populations, but to seek lasting solution for communities to withstand adversity.”

The crises arising from armed violence add to existing chronic vulnerabilities, including inadequate basic services, epidemics, food insecurity and malnutrition as well as the impact of climate change.

The 2019 humanitarian response plan focuses on providing immediate assistance to save lives, bolstering the protection of affected civilians, identifying risks and vulnerabilities to support the resilience of communities to shocks.

For further information, please contact: Modibo Traore OCHA Cameroon, traorem@un.org, Tel.: +237 6 93 30 52 22 OCHA press releases are available at www.unocha.org or www.reliefweb.int.