Mitigating the impact of the Anglophone crisis in Cameroon
The Anglophone crisis rocking the Northwest and Southwest regions of Cameroon for four years now and counting has rendered thousands of Cameroonians internally displaced and helpless. Some are competing for living space with animals in the bushes, with no access to education, abject poverty, poor hygiene and sanitation conditions, exposure to many diseases, while the ghost of intransigence hovers in these regions. In reaction to such live threatening living conditions, the ERuDeF Center for the Advancement of Women’s Initiatives (CAWI) recently launched its 2020 humanitarian operation plan in January at its headquarters in Buea. The key projects that will be implemented will include the support to the internally displaced persons, rehabilitation of child soldiers and the biodiversity in crisis.
The internally displaced persons (IDPs) project will strengthen and upscale its 2019 operation with focus on education and vocational training of 20,000 school children, economic recovery of over 5,000 -10,000 internally displaced, strengthening the fight against gender-based violence, health and WASH Clusters. Also the IDP project will focus on providing shelter and non-food items. A core area in 2020 will be providing protection and support to the forest “refuged” internally displaced as over 30,000 people are estimated to be living in forest enclaves.
The Child Soldier Rehabilitation Project will be launched to support the economic re-integration of the armed children involved in the Anglophone crisis. Expert estimates put the child soldier at about 10,000 -15,000 young people who are primarily school drop-outs and the unemployed. The Biodiversity in Crisis (BIC) project will also be launched in 2020 under the auspices of the ERuDeF Department of conservation. The project will assess the threats facing key wildlife species and their habitats, as well as monitor the population dynamics of the current wildlife species, in respect to the impact of the Anglophone crisis on them. The Cameroon Biodiversity in Crisis Fund would also be launched to support the work of hundreds of community rangers that will be risking their lives to save key wildlife species and habitats across the Anglophone crisis landscape.
Finally, the ERuDeF Center for the Advancement of Women’s Initiatives is pleased to announce the launching of its media publication known as the Cameroon Humanitarian News, an offshoot of its ‘Monthly Status Report’ on the Anglophone crisis in Cameroon which started in 2019. Beyond these core thematic areas, CAWI will also focus on research and development of the Anglophone “Cameroon Reparation Fund” concept.
