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Assessing IDP Children’s Needs in Douala Joint EiE-CPiE Needs Assessment Report, September 2021

Страны
Камерун
Источники
Street Child
Дата публикации

Executive Summary

Since 2016 conflict across the NWSW regions of Cameroon has displaced thousands of people across the border to the West and Littoral regions, and many have sought refuge and livelihoods opportunities in Douala. With the majority of schools in the NWSW closed, education opportunities have been a major driver of displacement for families and children. Many of the families and children who have been displaced to Douala are vulnerable and are exposed to significant risks – children are out of school, there are high rates of unaccompanied and separated children, and children are at-risk of exploitation and abuse. However, with large gaps in service provision for IDP families and children in Douala, up-to-date information on the needs of vulnerable displaced children is not readily available.

To begin to meet this gap in information, Street Child partnered with LUKMEF to design and implement a rapid assessment of education and child protection in emergencies for IDP children in Douala. The following report presents the findings of this assessment, and aims to provide information to stakeholders on the risks and challenges facing IDP children as well as enable education and child protection actors to design, mobilise resources for and implement evidencebased projects to begin to meet the needs of underserved displaced children.

Key findings from this assessment include:

• Only 31% of IDP children in communities assessed are estimated to be attending school regularly. IDP girls were reported to be slightly more likely to attend school than IDP boys.

• A key barrier identified by IDP communities to school enrolment is a lack of documentation (ID cards, progress booklets) needed to register.

• Bilingual schools are operational in the communities assessed, and some have introduced additional learning topics related to key life skills such as prevention of violence, peace and conflict mitigation

• Schools face significant overcrowding as well as a lack of teaching and learning materials and lack of training for teachers. 45% of respondents reported schools (both primary and secondary) to have been affected by the influx of IDPs.

• 52% of respondents reported the presence of unaccompanied and separated children in their communities. Key informants reported that some of these children are living on the street, in abandoned houses and under bridges, and that some are in orphanages.

• Respondents identified high levels of child protection risks facing IDP children. GBV, early or unwanted pregnancy, child labour and prostitution were identified as most prevalent risks for IDP girls. For IDP boys, the most reported risks are arbitrary detainment, school non-attendance and child labour.

Recommendations for education actors on the basis of these findings are detailed in the final pages of this report. In summary, they include:

• To implement immediate strategies for provision of access to safe, protective learning for the 69% of IDP children who are out of school, whilst working with education authorities to strengthen the capacity of the formal system to be able to absorb more children (including infrastructure, resources and training).

• To integrated child protection support into education structures and interventions; including through leveraging on schools and existing community-based education structures as entry points for the prevention, identification and referral of acutely vulnerable children to specialised support services.