Humanitarian Situation for Children in the Northwest and Southwest Region of Cameroon.
Overview
The crisis in the two English speaking regions of Cameroon – Northwest and Southwest (NW/SW) which started in November 2016 against a born of contention for issues of marginalization escalated into an armed conflict in October 1, 2017 leading to a dramatic every day increase of Internal Displaced Persons (IDPs).
Insecurity both from the armed groups and military has forced more than 430,000 people to flee their homes. Majority of the IDPs and most affected population are women, children and adolescent girls who suffer rape, sexual violence and difficulties with managing their menstruation. Sexual violence is used as a weapon of war by most of the armed parties involved in the conflict. Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) remains the greatest threat to adolescent girls and women’s reproductive/sexual health in the two regions, and particularly in the the capital cities of Bamenda and Buea where there is heavy military presence. This situation has led to new HIV/STIs infections for women and adolescent girls; early pregnancies with an every day increase in the number of teenage mother and crude abortions. Children 14 – 18 (mostly boys) are increasingly involved/being recruited into armed groups.
Children who were living under ARV medication are now vulnerable to opportunistic diseases because interruption of ARV medication.
Majority of the IDPs are living under very vulnerable conditions in crowded private homes, with some accommodating as many as 20 – 30 IDPs as there are yet no collective centres, with such living conditions there is virtually no protection and that is how the incidence of sexual violence against girls and women increases perpetrated by the military/separatist group and sometimes by men of host families and host communities.
As of January 2019 there is an estimate of 3,000 children suffering from life-threatening severe acute malnutrition. About 3,700 unaccompanied or separated children.
Needs
- Food items and non food items
- medical assistance
- shelter
- reintegration and rehabilitation
- Protection
- Psychosocial support/counseling
Our work so far
- Distribution of dignity kits to young women and adolescent girls
- Psycho-social support/counseling to survivors of sexual violence
- Livelihood skill for unaccompanied adolescents and working towards reintegration.
- Awareness raising on child protection and SGBV prevention
- Ongoing negotiations for families for the homeless