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UNHCR Cameroon Factsheet - February 2017

Countries
Cameroon
+ 2 more
Sources
UNHCR
Publication date

259,145 Central African refugees registered by UNHCR in rural areas in the East, Adamaoua and North regions, of which 158,418 arrived since December 2013

85,463 Nigerian refugees in the Far North region (of which 62,033 have been registered at Minawao camp)

191,908 Internally Displaced Persons in the Far North region (sources: DTM by IOM as of January 2017 and UNHCR protection monitoring Flash Updates)

MAJOR DEVELOPMENTS

  • In February, continued violence in the Central African Republic led to the arrival of 1,098 new Central African asylum seekers to Cameroon. Of this number, 693 individuals (281 households) arrived on 2 February in Mbaimboum in the North region, fleeing armed violence in Bocaranga and 405 arrived in the Cameroonian localities of Yamba, Damisa, Ngolo and Ngaoui from Bouzou and De Gaulle in CAR. They have all been registered and provided with assistance and protection. The situation of Central African refugees is becoming increasingly worrying in a context where humanitarian assistance funds are constantly declining and a return perspective is uncertain given the security situation in the country.

  • The security situation in the Far North region remains unpredictable as the recent military sweep of the Sambisa Forest by the Nigerian army led Boko Haram fighters, once settled there, to disperse villages within Nigeria but also Cameroon. In February, 261 individuals (120 households) new arrivals were registered at Gourounguel transit center. They report having come from IDP camps in Mubi, Maiduguri, and Abuja in Nigeria, and from the Cameroonian localities of Zelevet, Mora, Bogo, Kashimri, Double, Tchakarmari, Guider and Yagoua in the Far North region, where they had previously found refuge, but where some are now fleeing insecurity, difficult living conditions and a wish to be reunited with family members in Minawao camp.

  • The World Bank, jointly with the representatives of the Ministries of Territorial Administration and Decentralization (MINATD) and Economy, Planning and Regional Development (MINEPAT), African Development Bank and UNHCR, undertook a diagnostic mission in Cameroon between 20 February and 3 March. The two-week mission, which was facilitated by UNHCR, took place within the context of their International Development Assistance (IDA) sub-window with a view to increasing incentives for governments to support refugees and host communities, as part of the 18th replenishment of IDA. Cameroon is among 12 pilot countries that have been selected to potentially benefit from an additional allocation from the sub-window for refugees which is designed to focus on programmes uniquely benefiting refugees and refugee hosting areas. The mission was very timely as the diagnostic tool will also feed into the UNHCR-co-led pillar on forced displacement, protection and security under the joint UNEU-WB Recovery and Peacebuilding Assessment (RPBA). The mission visited CAR refugee hosting areas between 20-25 February and the Far North between 27-28 February. The mission evaluated the needs of local populations and refugees in host areas.

  • The Oslo Humanitarian Conference for Nigeria and the Lake Chad region took place on 24 February with the participation of more than 40 countries, the UN, regional organizations and civil society. At the end of the conference, humanitarian partners agreed to scale-up their response to reach the most vulnerable and to seek durable solutions for the displaced populations. Fourteen donors pledged a total of $ 672 million in new money in order to respond to the Lake Chad crisis for the next three years.

  • UNHCR and WFP organized a joint donor briefing on 14 February regarding the critical food ration cuts for Central African refugees. Efforts to continue sustained food assistance have been jeopardized by severe lack of funding, which has forced WFP to drastically reduce food support to 156,000 CAR refugees by 50 percent since October 2016, which provides far below the minimum daily 2,100 kilocalories. Since July 2017, WFP and UNHCR have been regularly informing partners about the incoming shortfall and the need for urgent additional resources. The cuts in assistance will continue until new contributions are received to enable WFP to replenish its stocks and restore the full rations. The humanitarian community and the Government of Cameroon remain deeply concerned about the negative impact of the food assistance cuts, which has put the affected population, especially women and children, in a highly vulnerable situation, increasing their exposure to food insecurity and malnutrition and resulting in immediate detrimental effects on school attendance and increasing the protection risks. WFP needs an additional US$ 16 million to cover assistance for the year, of which US$8 is urgently needed to fill the most critical gaps up to July and avoid a complete break in assistance.