24 Oct 2015, 06:26 am Print
“Deprived and traumatized families fleeing violence in the Central African Republic and Nigeria are being hosted by impoverished but generous communities, themselves facing daily hardship,” the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Stephen O’Brien, said in a press release.
“The Government of Cameroon and communities have been very generous in providing protection and assistance to the displaced. The international community must do more to help alleviate the suffering of thousands of families,” he added.
According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Cameroon has witnessed a four-fold increase in the number of displaced people hosted since early 2014.
“The attacks in the Far North of Cameroon are increasing in frequency. Entire communities have been uprooted from their homes.
During his visit to Cameroon, O’Brien met with Government officials and the humanitarian community, to discuss ways of improving assistance to the 1.3 million people chronically vulnerable to food insecurity and malnutrition, often due to the effects of hostile and changing climate.
“More than a million people across the country are food insecure; one in five of these families will go hungry without immediate food assistance.” said O’Brien.
OCHA estimates that 1.8 million people across Cameroon urgently require the most basic assistance and protection. Meanwhile, the humanitarian community has appealed for $264 million, yet only 42 per cent of this has been received.
Photo: OCHA/Ivo Brandau
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