Cameroon Humanitarian Situation Report ©UNICEF Cameroon/2019 SITUATION IN NUMBERS Highlights August 2019 2,300,000 • More than 118,000 people have benefited from UNICEF’s # of children in need of humanitarian assistance humanitarian assistance in the North-West and South-West 4,300,000 regions since January including 15,800 in August. # of people in need (Cameroon Humanitarian Needs Overview 2019) • The Rapid Response Mechanism (RRM) strategy, Displacement established in the South-West region in June, was extended 530,000 into the North-West region in which 1,640 people received # of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the North- WASH kits and Long-Lasting Insecticidal Nets (LLINs) in West and South-West regions (OCHA Displacement Monitoring, July 2019) August. 372,854 # of IDPs and Returnees in the Far-North region • In August, 265,694 children in the Far-North region were (IOM Displacement Tracking Matrix 18, April 2019) vaccinated against poliomyelitis during the final round of 105,923 the vaccination campaign launched following the polio # of Nigerian Refugees in rural areas (UNHCR Fact Sheet, July 2019) outbreak in May. UNICEF Appeal 2019 • During the month of August, 3,087 children received US$ 39.3 million psychosocial support in the Far-North region. UNICEF’s Response with Partners Total funding Funds requirement received Sector Total UNICEF Total available 20% $ 4.5M Target Results* Target Results* Carry-over WASH: People provided with 374,758 33,152 75,000 20,181 $ 3.2 M access to appropriate sanitation 2019 funding Education: Number of boys and requirement: girls (3 to 17 years) affected by 363,300 2,415 217,980 0 $39.3 M crisis receiving learning materials Nutrition**: Number of children Funding gap aged 6-59 months with SAM 60,255 39,727 65,064 40,626 $ 31.6M admitted for treatment Child Protection: Children reached with psychosocial support 563,265 160,423 289,789 87,110 through child friendly/safe spaces C4D: Persons reached with key life- saving & behaviour change 385,000 431,034 messages *Total results are cumulative. ** UNICEF targets can exceed that of the sector because the nutrition sector does not cover refugee camps, whereas UNICEF covers both the camps and out-of-camp refugees. Situation Overview & Humanitarian Needs During the month, rainy season conditions, roadblocks and insecurity significantly impacted the movement of UNICEF and other humanitarian actors in the North-West and South-West regions. Despite the challenges faced, UNICEF’s assistance to the affected population and children reached at least 15,800 people during the month and more than 118,000 beneficiaries since January 2019. Following the launch of an RRM-like initiative in June for Ekondo Titi sub-division (Ndian division, South-West region) by UNICEF with implementing partners, this was extended in August to Kumbo sub-division (Bui division, North- West region) where the emergency needs of 328 households (1,640 people) were assessed and subsequently responded with health (LLINs) and WASH (WASH kits) interventions. Follow up support was undertaken in screening for malnutrition, provision of psychosocial support through Child Friendly Spaces (CFSs) and distribution of drugs. UNICEF conducted a field mission to Mbingo (Belo sub-division, Boyo division, North-West region) where two of its partners (Plan International and CBCHB) implement projects on child protection and health. The purpose of the mission was to identify specific humanitarian needs and to familiarise with the access environment for this area. While no acute needs for water/sanitation and health were observed, the present situation exacerbates people’s ability to meet medical costs in which case the hospital is hard pressed to maintain budget limits. The mission observed that the nutrition treatment provided at the hospital was not in line with the existing national protocol and there was no outpatient treatment option available. People are not seeking medical attention when needed due to lack of financial means, resulting in deterioration of the health condition by the time they get to the hospital. Mission recommendations included conducting health screening at Child Friendly Spaces (CFSs) and in the communities to ensure that children receive treatment in a timely manner, and providing technical and supply assistance to enable out-patient and malnutrition treatment to follow technical protocols. In the Far-North region, two children in were killed by an unexploded remnant of war (ERW) on 21 August in Hile Alifa sub-division (Logone-et-Chari division). Reportedly, the children took a grenade home after they found it on the road. A near similar incident occurred in July, also killing two children. This situation highlights continuing mortal gaps in knowledge, awareness and practice relative to the risk of ERW for which UNICEF and partners need to scale up further community sensitization and awareness activities, including in school and through education services. As of 31 August, the resurgence of cases of cholera epidemic in 2019, beginning in May, has recorded a total of 508 cases (338 in the North region and 170 cases in Far-North region) according to the Ministry of Public Health. UNICEF and its partners collaborate with the Ministry of Public Health and the Ministry of Water and Energy through response and prevention interventions for the epidemic. In August, UNICEF also conducted household awareness campaign and visited 1,800 households to sensitise 16,840 people on cholera prevention and treatment. Since January, UNICEF has provided a total of 11,215 people with WASH kits, consisting of soaps, bucket, aqua tabs, cups for children. Estimated Population in Need of Humanitarian Assistance *Cameroon Humanitarian Needs Overview 2019 **SMART Survey 2017 & UNHCR Standardised Expanded Nutrition Survey (SENS) 2016 Start of humanitarian response: November 2013 Total Male Female Total Population in Need* 4,300,000 2,000,000 2,300,000 Children (Under 18) * 2,300,000 Children Under Five** 523,000 258,000 265,000 Children 6 to 23 months** 163,000 80,500 82,500 Malnourished Pregnant and lactating women** 18,000 - 18,000 Humanitarian Leadership and Coordination • The Humanitarian/Resident Coordinator leads the overall humanitarian coordination, supported by OCHA. • At the national level, UNICEF and the Government are co-leading the Nutrition, WASH and Education sectors, as well as the sub-sectoral group for Child Protection. 2 • At the field level, OCHA leads inter-sector coordination, which addresses particularly challenges and gaps both for refugees, IDPs and host communities in the Far-North, while UNHCR oversees coordination in the regions of the East and Adamawa. • In response to the crisis in the North-West and South-West, clusters have been activated and UNICEF is the lead for the WASH, Nutrition, Education clusters and the Child Protection Area of Responsibility. • Note that where relevant, UNICEF, as cluster lead agency, is responsible for information management of the cluster and sharing overall results achieved by the cluster collectively. Humanitarian Strategy UNICEF’s 2019 humanitarian strategy is organised around four pillars designed to strengthen the linkages between humanitarian action and development programming: 1) building a protective environment and supporting community peacebuilding; 2) preventing and responding to violence against and exploitation of children; 3) increasing access to basic services; and 4) strengthening emergency preparedness and response systems. The strategy is implemented using three operational modalities. First, UNICEF strengthens government systems in communes and build community capacities. The goal is to establish linkages between community-based mechanisms and government structures to reinforce local resilience. Second, where community structures are unable to absorb shocks, UNICEF supports community-based associations and sub-regional governments to deliver services and establish coordination mechanisms. This will strengthen social cohesion by ensuring that both affected populations and host communities can access services. Third, UNICEF and partners provide an integrated, rights-based assistance package to the most conflict-affected populations. In all aspects of its humanitarian response, UNICEF strengthens accountability to affected populations, including by meeting with communities directly, where possible, and working through third-party monitors to ensure effective programme delivery. An OCHA led task force, with UNICEF and WFP support, was established earlier this year to advance common efforts towards the prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse and to protect affected populations. Summary Analysis of Programme Response UNICEF humanitarian assistance primarily focuses on IDPs, out-of-camp Nigerian refugees and host communities affected by the Lake Chad Basin (LCB) crisis, the CAR refugee response, and the North-West and South-West crisis. Lake Chad Basin (LCB) Crisis Nutrition1 During the month of July, 4,132 children aged 6 to 59 months, including 87 Nigerian refugee children from Minawao camp were admitted to 360 UNICEF-supported health centres in the Far-North region. From 19-25 August, UNICEF, together with Regional Health Delegation of the North region and National nutrition sub-delegation conducted a 5-day training in Guider Health District (North region). A total of 38 health staff from 9 health districts (Bibemi, Garoua1, Guider, Lagdo, Ngong, Poli, Rey Bouba, Cholire, Touboro in the North region) took