CAR refugees dying in Cameroon hospitals

Refugees fleeing violence in the Central African Republic are continuing to die in significant numbers after reaching the relative safety of Cameroon, reports children’s charity Plan International.

About 116,000 refugees have now crossed into Cameroon since the start of this year, according to UN figures.

More than a fifth of refugee patients in some health centres in Cameroon are dying after making the long and traumatic journey, according to the UN’s Office for the Co-Ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA).

“Some inpatient therapeutic feeding centres have shown mortality rates are well over 20 per cent in the last month, due to dehydration, hypothermia and severe anaemia,” says Famari Barro, Plan’s Country Director in Cameroon.

“Children are continuing to die each day in Cameroon, having already survived massacres in the Central African Republic and travelled long distances with little or no shelter, food or water,” he adds.

UN OCHA estimates that 13 refugee children are dying every day.

It comes as political talks are held in Brazzaville, the Republic of Congo, on the disarming of militias and initiating ceasefire talks in Central African Republic itself.

“More than half of the refugees in the region are children under the age of 18 including unaccompanied minors and teenage mothers.

“Admission records in nutrition centres show that seven to eight per cent of admissions are infants less than six months old,” says Mr Barro.

Plan has built several boreholes in one of the camps, Mbile, as well as 16 latrines and 16 shower blocks.

Plan is also constructing areas where children can play and learn safely.

More than 2,000 families have already received hygiene kits from Plan, which contain soap, sanitary towels, toothbrushes, toothpaste and a bucket.

It has also distributed malaria prevention and treatment drugs to four health centres, as well as medicine to treat other infectious diseases.