282 mln USD for humanitarian response in Cameroon

A total of 282 million U.S. dollars will be needed in 2016 to cover humanitarian needs caused by the security and humanitarian crisis due to Boko Haram activities in Northern Cameroon and incursions of armed groups from Central African Republic in eastern Cameroon, the United Nations said Monday.

Since 2013, the Cameroonian government and its partners have been mobilizing funds for humanitarian needs each year to adequately respond to the needs of vulnerable people, said the resident coordinator of UN System in Cameroon Najat Rochdi.

"In 2016, out of a population of 22.2 million, 2.7 million people are in need and the humanitarian response plan targets 1.1 million people in four regions of East, Adamaoua, North and Far North," Rochdi said when she addressed the press in Yaounde.

The target population comprises of internally displaced persons, refugees, host communities as well as Cameroonian population faced with hunger, malnutrition, and diseases.

In 2015, a sum of 163 million dollars was mobilized out of a total of 264 million dollars that had been envisaged, the UN official revealed.
Out of this year's budget, 176 million dollars will be spent on Central African Republic's refugees who are estimated to be 250,000 and 70,000 others from Nigeria.

Internally displaced persons due to Boko Haram activities are estimated to be 124,000 in Cameroon's Far North region.

According to official sources, the violence has caused a deficit of 132,000 tons of cereals, which translates to a loss of 60 million dollars.

The UN official warned that "if aid is not provided within the first six months of the year, the situation may deteriorate with the increase of vulnerable cases in most parts of the country."

The presentation of these needs come within a context of increased suicide attacks by Boko Haram in Cameroon's Far North region.

The most recent attack was on Monday when the group's attack left 32 people dead and 86 others injured in the same region.