World Bank pledges FCFA 28B for humanitarian aid in Cameroon

The World Bank will be offering $45 million (approximately FCFA 28,1 billion) to help vulnerable people in Cameroon access humanitarian aid.

The United Nations World Food Program, which will coordinate the humanitarian action, says the funds will be used to provide aid for over 260,000 vulnerable people in Cameroon for the next two years.

On October 2, the WFP signed a partnership with Cameroonian authorities to provide humanitarian aid to thousands of refugees and internally displaced people in the country.

The WFP’s Country Director, Wanja Kaaria, said the money will help them “respond to the food security situation in the Adamawa, North, Far North, East, North West and South West regions of the country that are affected by numerous crises”.

“Cameroonian communities have repeatedly suffered from increased food security, a lot of it because of several crises. This has made the population vulnerable to not only food insecurity but also the impact of climate change,” Kaaria said.

“These resources will allow the World Food Program to implement activities to support communities… to meet immediate food needs, and they will also allow them to build resilience to shocks and sustainable development of livelihood.”

Cameroon is facing armed conflicts in the North West, South West and Far North Regions, and a refugee crisis in the Far North and East Regions.

In a report released in May, the UN said 407.3 million U.S. dollars are needed to help about 2.7 million people suffering from the effects of violence, national disasters, climate shocks, and disease outbreaks in the country.

Worsening violence and attacks in the Anglophone Regions, which have been facing a secession conflict since 2017, have displaced thousands more people in the last few months.

The number of people in need of humanitarian aid in Cameroon has also increased by 20%, according to the UN.

Faced by the worsening armed conflict and humanitarian situation in Cameroon, lawmakers of the United States of America recently petitioned the country’s government to extend a temporary protected status for Cameroonians in the country.

Among the crises facing Cameroon are the six-year armed conflict in the two English-speaking regions, the Boko Haram insurgency in the Far North Region and the influx of refugees from Nigeria and the Central African Republic.

Edited by Tata Mbunwe