Facts
A total of
186,685
people in need received our assistance in 2023.
Humanitarian overview
Despite the attention received when NRC named Cameroon the eighth most neglected crisis in the world in 2022, as of December 2023 only 30 per cent of the Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) had been funded.
Since 2014, attacks by Boko Haram insurgents have continued to force massive population displacements in Cameroon’s Far North region. As of December 2023, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) counts 453,661 internally displaced people, 198,940 returnees, and 121,206 refugees in the region. In the Southwest and Northwest regions, an internal crisis has been unfolding since 2016, leading to the displacement of 621,591 people within Cameroon, and 89,045 Cameroonian refugees in Nigeria. Since December 2020, following violence in the Central African Republic (CAR), more than 354,837 refugees from CAR moved to Cameroon.
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41,726people benefited from our education programme in 2023
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24,058people benefited from our food security programme
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23,258people benefited from our shelter programme
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31,853people benefited from our ICLA programme
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90,711people benefited from our WASH programme
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8,227people benefited from other NRC activities
NRC’s operation
NRC opened its country office in Cameroon in 2017 in the Far North region, followed by an office in the Southwest in 2018 and a sub-office in the Northwest in 2019 followed by an office in the East. NRC provides integrated multi-sector assistance, covering emergency needs and linking them to recovery interventions and durable solutions. NRC is a key advocacy actor through its leadership role in coordination forums and hosts the INGO coordination forum.
Education
We collaborate with communities and local authorities to support children’s access to quality education. Our education teams:
- train primary school teachers in psychosocial support and inclusive education
- support access to accelerated education for out-of-school children
- assist in providing emergency resources for vulnerable schools and children to enhance teaching and learning
- support transition to and retention into formal basic education
- support pupils’ parents in improving their economic condition to sustain children’s retention in formal schools
Livelihoods and food security
We collaborate with communities to ensure conflict-affected populations can improve their food security and revive their livelihoods. Our teams:
- distribute cash so that displaced people can access food and other necessities
- distribute small livestock, seeds, and agricultural inputs, and ensure access to water
- train young people and adults in income-generating activities and provide them with cash grants for start-up activities
- train women and men in food processing and improved agricultural techniques
Information, counselling and legal assistance (ICLA)
We collaborate with communities and local authorities to ensure conflict-affected populations can exercise their rights. Our ICLA teams:
- provide information, counselling, training and legal assistance on legal and civil documentation, as well as promoting security of tenure and claiming other housing, land and property (HLP) rights
- train local entities involved in childbirth registration, as well as HLP and dispute resolution
- lead a working group on HLP, coordinating with actors to ensure that HLP is integrated as cross-cutting
- provide technical support to the humanitarian community
Shelter and settlements
We collaborate with communities to ensure conflict-affected populations have access to safe and dignified housing and learning environments. Our shelter teams:
- provide cash for rent for forcibly displaced individuals and refugees
- support displaced populations with emergency shelter kits and essential household items
- support those experiencing protracted displacement with transitional housing support and essential household items
- support returnees with technical and material support to (re-)construct their homes
- construct and/or rehabilitate emergency and longer-term learning environments for students
Water, sanitation and hygiene promotion (WASH)
We collaborate with communities and local authorities to ensure conflict-affected populations have access to adequate water and sanitation services as well as adequate hygiene items and services. Our WASH teams:
- support displaced people and refugees with access to water by rehabilitating/constructing boreholes and supporting committees with trainings and provision of spare parts and maintenance toolkits
- construct institutional and family latrines in emergency and recovery settings
- support learning environments with access to water and sanitation, and provide hygiene promotion
- conduct hygiene promotion activities, including on cholera prevention, as well distributing essential hygiene items, including menstrual hygiene kits to women and girls
- support behavioural change in terms of hygiene practices