North Cameroon facing humanitarian crises

Cameroon faces multiple humanitarian emergencies including drought and recurrent floods in the North of the country causing food crisis as well as cholera epidemics. Added to this is the influx of refugees from the Central African Republic and Nigeria.

Most of the refugees are settled in camps, while 34,000 of the displaced have chosen to live in the villages and 17,000 are at the entry points of Cameroon.

For some of them, migration conditions were difficult, as stated by Djerassem Bayorem, the spokesman for the UNHCR in Cameroon: "Refugees who arrive make a detour; it takes them some three to four months to get to Cameroon in order to escape attacks by armed militias. So, people are still in the Bush, without water and food. Some have said they ate roots, others cassava tubers”.

These conditions often affect the health status of these refugees. Moreover, health and food Support are on sites and particularly in the various camps, but the refugees are not willing to go there: "Among the refugees who live in the villages, some 7,000 have told us that they wanted to go to these sites to be closer to their families and because they do not feel safe near the border", adds Djerassem Bayorem.

Other refugees do not want to go there, because they started developing ties and especially small businesses in the area. They will therefore remain in the villages where they will be assisted.

For the moment these Central African and Nigerian refugees remain spared by the cholera epidemic raging the northern part of Cameroon.