In May 2018 the U.N. Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) issued a global call for humanitarian aid for the South-West and North-West regions of Cameroon. [1]
According to OCHA, “In November 2017, the sociopolitical crisis progressively translated into insecurity and armed violence. Since then, the escalation of tension and upsurge in hostilities between non-state armed groups and defense and security forces have triggered humanitarian needs across the two regions, linked to significant internal displacement. In recent months, the epicentre of the crisis moved from Bamenda (North-West) to Mamfe and Kumba (SouthWest). All divisions in the South-West region, host to more than 1.4 million inhabitants, are affected by the crisis.”
“The South-West Region [says OCHA] has become the hub of the crisis as it is home to more than 90% of the 160,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) in need of humanitarian assistance; 135,000 are located in Meme Division and 15,000 in Manyu Division. The remaining 10,000 are displaced in the North-West Region.”
As a result, OCHA has identified the pressing need for people in these areas for shelter, health, access to safe drinking water and sanitation, education, food security (including livelihood) and protection of civilians.
Conclusion
A copy of this post will be sent to the American Refugee Committee with headquarters in Minneapolis and to others with requests for assistance. Other readers are urged to reach out to church and other civic leaders plus public officials to alert them to this need and to seek their assistance.
=======================================
[1] OCHA, Emergency Response Plan: CAMEROON North-West and South-West (May 2018)
