The European Union has pledged to keep up with its efforts at providing a better life for the vulnerable in Cameroon, with special focus on Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and refugees.
To achieve this goal, it has allocated over 11 Billion FCFA, The Guardian Post reports. “The food situation has significantly deteriorated in the Far North. This, combined with the persistence of conflict and the adverse impact of natural hazards and epidemics, is sapping the ability of the most vulnerable people to cater for their basic needs,” the daily newspaper quoted the institution.
In this light, the EU, it added, will be seeking to repair over 48,000 hectares of farmland destroyed which affected over 70,000 people, as a way to guarantee food security.
In addition to this, refugees are not left out of the picture, with aid efforts also “being directed at improving their livelihoods, self-reliance and to supporting them with durable solutions”.
Cameroon is estimated to have an internally displaced population of 976.000, nearly two times higher than the 503,000 refugees the country hosted as of October 2022. A majority of these refugees, hail from Nigeria and the troubled Central African Republic.
The EU revealed that it has since 2020, spent more than 150 billion FCFA to provide humanitarian support to Cameroon, with an estimated 19 billion spent in 2022 alone. Of the sum for 2022, over 42 million FCFA was channeled at cushioning food availability lapses caused by the Russia-Ukraine war.
According to the EU, focus in 2023, will be especially “on providing food, safe drinking water and sanitation, primary health care, shelter, livelihoods support, protection and education”.
Poise News Desk
COMMENTS