Cameroon Crisis. Women take the lead in Humanitarian actions on "GZ"

The United Nations system in Cameroon has pledged to continue assisting persons in need in the NW and SW Regions of Cameroon.

Public sensitization at event ground.

Commemorating the International Humanitarian Day in Bamenda on Saturday August 17, the UN as well as its specialized agencies and other partners presented aspects of their work to the public.

 The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) which is presently operating in the North West region for the first time took the floor to introduce the various specialized UN agencies working on Humanitarian response actions in Cameroon and made it known to the public and civil society organizations where and how they can be reached and for what reasons.
It was equally an opportunity for other humanitarian and civil society organizations to enlighten the public on their various activities in providing relief to the local population affected by the conflict in this part of the country.

Cross section of participants

One of the UN partners in the provision of humanitarian assistance in the current socio political unrest in the North West and South West Regions of the Country is Plan Cameroon, who have so far been involved in the creation of safe spaces for children displaced by the crisis in the South West and North West regions. They have provided Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH kits) to over 30,420 people in 1 WASH clusters in the two regions. According to Plan Cameroon, about 78% of persons in these regions are in need.

With main aim, the protection of children especially girls due to their vulnerability, Plan Cameroon said it has also provided psycho social support to some internally displaced children in the North West by engaging them in livelihood activity trainings. Some of such children after going through counseling have been put into training workshops where they are acquiring some skills in beads making. According to Plan Cameroon officials, at the Bamenda Program Unit, “this is to make sure that after bringing aid to children or a family, they don’t continue to depend on that aid which may not come again due to the ever increasing need for aid in other areas. This is an aspect of sustainability which we are bringing in to see that we can make these young girls acquire some skills that can eventually put food on their tables”.

It is however worthy of note that they have challenges which are the continues displacement of persons on a daily basis, the continues blocking of roads leading to the most hit areas of the region needing emergency humanitarian aid like Bui, Boyo, Batibo, Menchum among others. Plan Cameroon and other humanitarian actors have complained that these factors have greatly limited access to communities.
The World Food Program on their part complained of the storage of food which often gets bad due to lack of storage facilities.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) whose aim is to coordinate the distribution of humanitarian aid by various UN agencies and their partners during a humanitarian crisis also revealed during the celebration that they now have a permanent office in the North West region.

Tanda Theophilus (UNOCHA representative NW)

“We have so far been doing well with the various actors and we are making sure that we identify and advocate for the inclusion of persons with disabilities as well as identify where there is humanitarian need and to advice the actors working on such needs to intervene. We also have joint evaluation conferences with the various actors to follow up the effective distribution of aid,” TandaTheophilus, representative for UNOCHA North West region said. He added that the focus of this year's celebration aims at honoring women humanitarian actors who this far are taking the lead in humanitarian activities on the ground.

Heads of the UN specialized agencies in Cameroon.

Other UN agencies present at the celebration were; UNFPA, UNDP, UNICEF, and INTERSOS, as well as partners like Norwegian Refugee Council, Doctors Without Borders, Medicins du Monde Suisse, COMINSUD, LUKMEF, and CARITAS.

Ambe Macmillian Awa.