CERF responds to drought and food insecurity with $4.8 million grant for Cameroon

2 March 2012: The north of Cameroon is located in the Sahel region and experienced droughts in 2009 and 2011 and floods in 2010. Each of these years has resulted in a high degree of crop failure, leaving the population with limited or nonexistent stocks for the lean season and increasing the gap between food production and food needs. An estimated 5.5 million people are living in the Far North region of Cameroon and the majority are farmers and agro-pastoralists. One-third of rural households are food vulnerable or food insecure.

In response, the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) has given US$4.8 million to four United Nations agencies to address humanitarian needs related to drought and food insecurity in Cameroon. The nutrition situation is characterised by a high prevalence of chronic and acute malnutrition. Both the North and the Far North regions have been affected for several years by a structural nutritional crisis aggravated by erratic rainfall. Preliminary results from a 2011 survey show that chronic malnutrition rates in the North and Far North are 40.2 and 44.9 per cent respectively. Rates of acute malnutrition among children under 5 are 10.2 per cent for the North and 11.8 per cent for the Far-North. These regions also face other public health problems, including measles outbreaks affecting 21 of the total 43 health districts of the two regions. Measles outbreaks are expected to extend to other health districts with persistent or worsening drought.

With CERF funding of $2.7 million, the World Food Programme (WFP) will distributed food to 100,000 drought-affected farmers in the Logon and Chari division during one month. In addition, about 46,000 malnourished children under 5 and 12,000 pregnant and lactating women will be assisted through a targeted Supplementary Feeding Programme (SFP) in government health centres. In addition, 23,800 children under 2 and 17,000 pregnant and lactating women will receive food rations for three months

A grant of $859,000 will help the United Nations Children’s Programme (UNICEF) support the treatment of 55,000 children and 180,000 pregnant and lactating women with severe acute malnutrition. UNICEF will also strengthen the capacity of the government health centres to treat people with acute malnutrition. Some 235,000 people will benefit from the CERF-funded UNICEF projects.

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has been given an allocation of $611,000 to supply vulnerable pastoralists in the Logon and Chari division with improved seeds, animal feed and vaccines to support their self-sufficiency. More than 130,000 people will benefit from the FAO funded project.The World Health Organization (WHO) has been given a grant of $578,000 to provide essential medicines to all 43 health districts in the two northern regions to prevent and control malnutrition related diseases among 91,200 moderately acute malnourished children under 5 and support 25,300 pregnant and lactating women.