Humanitarian Action for Children 2011 - Unicef

CameroonChildren and women in crisisPeople living in Cameroon’s eastern and northern regions are struggling to share their limitedaccess to basic services – potable water, health care and education – with a continuous andever-shifting refugee population fleeing the Central African Republic. At the same time, 3,500refugees who fled from Chad in 2008 remain at the Longi camp in Nord Province. Acuteemergencies compound this stress. In 2010, flooding and cholera in the north took their toll,and the already precarious existence of many women and children was made even more so.In Adamaoua and Est Provinces, the acute malnutrition rate is about 8.5 per cent, which isclose to emergency threshold levels. Such high levels of undernutrition render the populationvulnerable to disease and unprepared for natural disasters, and reflect the long-term nature ofthe uncertain conditions in these regions.Humanitarianfunding at work:Highlights from 2010UNICEF was able to meetimmediate humanitarianneeds experienced by bothrefugee and host populationsin 2010. More than 17,000children with severe acutemalnutrition from both hostand refugee communitiesin the emergency-affectedProvinces (Adamaoua,Est, Extreme Nord andNord) received life-savingtreat ment between Januaryand August 2010. Amongthese children, more than95 per cent of those whowere 6–59 months oldreceived one dose of vitaminA supplementation and95 per cent of the 12– to59-month-old childrenreceived deworming tablets.Around 1,000 families invillages benefited fromconstruction of new latrines.Thirty-eight schools whererefugee children are enrolledreceived teaching andlearning materials for 5,700children, of whom 2,500are refugees.Meeting urgent needs and building resilience in 2011In 2011, UNICEF will continue to work with the Government of Cameroon, other UN agencies,NGOs and local communities to assist 1 million women and children.• In response to the increasing levels of undernutrition, 25,000 children with severe acutemalnutrition will be admitted to the community-based management of acute malnutritionprogramme. The Communication for Development (C4D)-based essential nutrition packagewill be scaled up in emergency areas where 1 million children under age 5 and 1.3 millionwomen of childbearing age are living.• To help implement community-based management of acute malnutrition, about 300 healthfacilities located in Adamaoua, Est, Extreme-Nord and Nord Provinces will be provided withessential drugs, supplies for deworming and immunization, medical emergency equipment,ready-to-use therapeutic food and vitamin A.• 300 communities, representing 6 per cent of the population in the most disadvantagedregions and 2 per cent of the national population, will benefit from Community-Led TotalSanitation activities – improving access to sanitation by 30 per cent in those communitiesand 1 per cent throughout Cameroon.• In order for young refugee children to be able to access and stay in school, acceleratedlearning and other education re-entry programmes will be strengthened in 17 primaryschools located in Adamaoua and Est Provinces where high numbers of refugees are living.• More than 500,000 youths and adolescents will have better access to voluntary counsellingand HIV testing.Funding requirements for 2011To stabilize the welfare of women and children in Cameroon by achieving gains in nutritionalstatus, access to health services and safe water, and education opportunities, UNICEF isrequesting US$3.35 million to carry out its planned activities.More information on achievements of 2010 and the humanitarian action planned forCameroon in 2011 can be found at www.unicef.org/hac2011.UNICEF EMERGENCY NEEDS FOR 2011 (in US dollars)Total $3,350,000600,000 Health100,000Child protection150,000HIV and AIDS1,000,000 Nutrition600,000 WASH900,000 EducationCameroonwww.unicef.org/hac2011 | 2011 UNICEF Humanitarian Action FOR CHILDREN 63