The Cameroonian government is appealing for hundreds of millions of dollars to help vulnerable groups such as children, people with disability, and women who are the most affected by conflict.
The government, along with humanitarian agencies, says they must raise $407 million to meet the needs of the approximately 3 million most vulnerable people in the country.
Overall 4.7 million people in the country could be classed as “vulnerable”, it was revealed. That’s one in six people who need assistance. More than three quarters of them are women and children.
About 3 million people are facing acute food insecurity, and more than 2 million people are internally displaced, refugees, or returnees.
The 2023 Humanitarian Response Plan drawn up by the government and International humanitarian agencies says they need money for protection services and life-saving assistance for people suffering the effects of violence, natural disasters, climate shocks, and disease outbreaks.
The announcement did not specify who they would ask for this money, but the request was aimed at “the international community”.
Sufficient funding
Matthias Naab, Humanitarian Coordination in Cameroon during his presentation on Thursday urged the international community to provide “early, flexible and sufficient funding”.
“It will support livelihoods and resilience, to ensure that affected women, men, girls and boys can meet their basic needs. Priority will be given to interventions for those in greatest need, including internally displaced persons, returnees, refugees, and host communities who continue to generously open their homes to those in need,” he said.
Cameroon is dealing with terrorist attacks in the Far North region, where the civilian population continues to be subject to armed attacks, improvised explosive devices (IEDs), kidnappings, including of children, looting, and destruction of property and infrastructure, by Islamist militants.
Seven years after separatists embarked on a mission to independence in the Northwest and Southwest, there have been reports of human rights violations that have led to important population displacements.
Insecurity in the neighboring Central African Republic has seen the influx of over 340,009 refugees in the East, Adamawa, and Mort regions.
Over 224 humanitarian organizations are working with the United Nations and government to boost response in Cameroon.
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