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Launch of response plans to help people in Cameroon & refugees across the region

January 25, 2016

The Government together with the United Nations and humanitarian partners today launched the 2016 Humanitarian Response Plan for Cameroon. On the same occasion, the 2016 Regional Response Plans for Nigerian and Central African refugees were also presented. 160The 2016 Humanitarian Response Plan for Cameroon aims to raise US$282 million to provide protection and assistance to 1.1 million people affected by the triple crisis in the country. The intensification of the violence that continues to plague the northeast of Nigeria, cross-border raids, and suicide bombings in Cameroon have caused the arrival of over 70,000 Nigerian refugees and forced 124,000 Cameroonians in the Far North from their homes. Moreover, the significant increase in 2015 of vulnerability to food insecurity, malnutrition, protection and epidemics were compounded by flooding and recurrent drought. The ongoing conflict in the Central African Republic also has forced thousands of refugees to flee in East, Adamaoua and North regions of Cameroon. "This plan intents to respond to the issues of mass displacement of Nigerian refugees and Cameroonians, food insecurity and malnutrition, the challenges of protecting civilians and help people better access  basic services such as health, education, water, hygiene and sanitation. Girls and boys, women and men, aspire, as we all do, to have the chance at a better future, safer for themselves and for their families," said Najat Rochdi, Humanitarian Coordinator for Cameroon. In 2016, some 2.4 million people in Cameroon are food insecure. The Far North region concentrates 55 per cent of all the humanitarian needs of the country, nearly 1.5 million people. In this region, 2.2 per cent of children suffer from severe acute malnutrition, exceeding the emergency threshold of 2 per cent. “Mounting humanitarian need in Cameroon is the most visible consequence of the combined effects of growing insecurity, climate change and extreme poverty that have been challenging the region”, noted Toby Lanzer, the Assistant Secretary General and Regional Humanitarian Coordinator for the Sahel. “The poorest families have been hit the hardest, and despite this, have shown outstanding solidarity in hosting thousands of their displaced peers. The international community must step up its - short and long-term - support and match the generosity of the people and Government of Cameroon, and ensure the stability of the region.” The regional refugee response Plans for 2016 aim to mobilize $346 million for more than 476,000 Central African refugees and more than 289,000 people among the host communities in Cameroon, Chad, Republic of Congo and the Democratic Republic of Congo, and also, $200 million for 230,000 Nigerian refugees and almost 285,000 vulnerable people among host communities in Cameroon, Chad and Niger. These two plans enable the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to cover priority needs for basic protection and services and improve the living conditions of refugees and host communities. "This is, on one hand, to meet the needs of vulnerable refugees, and secondly, to promote self-sufficiency. We can’t achieve this without close cooperation between the asylum countries: Cameroon, Niger, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Republic of Congo, Chad, and humanitarian and development partners," said Liz Ahua, UNHCR Regional Refugee Coordinator for the Central African Republic and Nigeria.

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