Minette, 38, and her family fled from Manyu and sought safety in Buea after their home was burnt down. They have received some plastic sheeting and utensils from NRC, and they have built a temporary kitchen at their new place in Buea. Photo: Tiril Skarstein/NRC

NRC in Cameroon

NRC started activities in Cameroon in April 2017 and is currently responding to three humanitarian crises simultaneously.

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.

  • 41,726
    people benefited from our education programme in 2023
  • 24,058
    people benefited from our food security programme
  • 23,258
    people benefited from our shelter programme
  • 31,853
    people benefited from our ICLA programme
  • 90,711
    people benefited from our WASH programme
  • 8,227
    people 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.

 

NRC EducationEducation

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

 

NRC Livelihoods and food securityLivelihoods 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

 

NRC Information, counselling and legal assistance (ICLA)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

 

NRC Shelter and settlementsShelter 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

 

NRC Water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH)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

 

 

Contact NRC Cameroon

Country director

Elena Vicario

About NRC in Cameroon

Established
2017
International staff
10
Areas of operations
Yaoundé (country office), Far North region, Southwest and Northwest regions, East region, Adamawa region, Littoral region, and West region
National staff
143