Cumber, SN

Nchanji, KN

Ngwa, CH

English

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Meeting the food needs of refugee children in the northern and eastern regionsof Cameroon: current challenges faced and strategies to overcome themSN Cumbera, KN Nchanjib and CH Ngwaa,c*aSection for Epidemiology and Social Medicine, Department of Public Health, Institute of Medicine (EPSO), The Sahlgrenska Academy atUniversity of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, SwedenbDepartment of Medical Diagnostic Imaging, St Blaise Clinic, Big Mankon, Archdiocese Bamenda, Bamenda, CamerooncEpidemiology and Control of Infectious Diseases, Department of Microbiology and Parasitology, University of Buea,Buea, Cameroon*Corresponding author, email: chehenry200@gmail.comIntroductionConflicts in North Eastern Nigeria and the Central African Repub-lic (CAR) have led to spillover effects in the Northern (Adamawa,North and Far North) and Eastern Regions of Cameroon.1–3 In2016, an estimated 2.7 million people needed humanitarianassistance in Cameroon, majority of which were children, withthe conflict-hit regions of Cameroon having the highestnumber of affected children.3 Refugee children in the Northernregions of Cameroon are food insecure due to the persistentBoko Haram terror in the Far North Region and the crisis inthe Central African Republic (CAR). As of 2016, there were anestimated 332 000 refugees and asylum seekers in Cameroonand the figure keeps rising.3Meeting the food needs of refugee children in these regions ofCameroon is a serious health issue, needing urgent attention.Several cases of malnourished children have been reported inthe refugee camps of these regions.2 The situation is madeworse by the persistent terror activities of the Boko Haramsect in the Northern regions of Cameroon.1–3 According to theEuropean Commission report,1 1.9 million people in the Sahelianregion (with Cameroon being part), are food insecure; 618 000children suffer from severe acute malnutrition (SAM) and morethan 550 000 children in this region die from SAM. Last year2017, between the months of June and August, it was estimatedthat about 53 million people would be food insecure if urgentactions were not taken to prevent this. Several factors havebeen identified to influence the persistent food insecurityamong refugee children in these parts of Cameroon.1–3The growing conflicts in the North Eastern part of Nigeria, thepersistent terrorism in the Far North region of Cameroon andconflicts in the CAR, causing an increase in refugees to Camer-oon, their growing food needs and cases of malnourishmentamong refugee children are factors that motivate the writingof this editorial whose main aims are to document the foodcrisis affecting refugee children in the affected regions of Camer-oon and also to recommend strategies to address the problem.Current prevalence of food insecurity amongrefugee children, responsible factors andinterventions by the Cameroon government and itspartnersAs initially mentioned,1–3 the situation of food insecurity amongrefugee children in Cameroon is precarious and needs urgentattention. Over 259 000 refugees from CAR are hosted by Camer-oon in the East, Adamawa and the North regions; meanwhileover 20 000 refugees reside in urban areas. The Far Northregion hosts over 87 000 refugees from neighbouring Nigeriaand Chad with about 60 157 registered in the Minawaorefugee camp as of 2016.4The situation is further exacerbated by persistent conflicts, lowsocioeconomic status and lack of agricultural activities besidesdrought in the Far North region and also the East Region.2About 61 262 children in the Far North are suffering fromsevere acute malnutrition (SAM), and over 2 669 have beenadmitted for treatment. Food shortage is increasing despitelaudable efforts by the Cameroon government and its partnersto address it.1–3Many factors have been identified to cause food insecurityamong refugee children, among which are poverty, drought,persistent conflicts, lack of improved agricultural techniquesleading to inadequate yields, and hindrances to aid deliverydue to persistent terrorism.1 Limited funding is also a major chal-lenge.5 This leaves an estimated 2.5 million people or one inevery five households facing emergency levels of food insecurityin the four priority regions of Cameroon (Far North, North,Adamawa and East Regions).Humanitarian relief agencies such as the World Food Pro-gramme (WFP), and the United Nations High Commissioner forRefugees (UNHCR) have made several successful attempts toaddress the chronic food needs such as the signing of partner-ship agreements with the Cameroon government (a case inpoint is United Nations Development Assistance—Cameroon),the transfer of authority to the Cameroon government withregard to the registration of refugees, and the supply of agricul-tural kits to 6 676 refugee farmers in Logone and Chari area ofthe far North Regions3, to say the least, though much is stillleft undone. The European Commission, United States Agencyfor International Development (USAID), United Nations CentralEmergency Response Fund through United Nations Develop-ment Assistance (UNDAF) and in Cameroon the Orange Foun-dation and MTN Foundation have been funding severalprojects to increase food supply to affected refugee childrenin these regions. Several identified affected children havebeen received for treatment, and many in sound health,though cases of malnutrition are still being witnessed. Due toefforts made by the World Food Programme (WFP),6 in 2017nearly 500 000 people received food aid in the Far Northregion of Cameroon, including refugee children.6 In the frame-work of malnutrition reduction among refugee children, 138000 children in the Far North and Eastern regions of Cameroonreceived nutrition and health packages to boast their healthSouth African Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2019; 32(4):91–92https://doi.org/10.1080/16070658.2018.1480883Open Access article distributed under the terms of theCreative Commons License [CC BY-NC 4.0]http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0SAJCNISSN 1607-0658 EISSN 2221-1268© 2019 The Author(s)OPINION (OPEN FORUM)South African Journal of Clinical Nutrition is co-published by NISC (Pty) Ltd, Medpharm Publications, and Informa UK Limited(trading as the Taylor & Francis Group)status.6 As a result of efforts made by the WFP, global acute mal-nutrition rates dropped from 4% in January 2017 to 2.7% inMarch 2017, thereby showing the impact on malnutrition preva-lence reduction among refugee children as a result of humani-tarian relief efforts.6 The facilitation of delivery of food aid toaffected families through the air flight system in the Northernregions has greatly bridged the limited access to affectedfamilies faced by most non-governmental organisations(NGOs) in the field.1–5The Cameroon government, through the signing of several legalinstruments intended to protect refugees, has shown its deter-mination to address the food needs of affected children. More-over, the government of Cameroon through UNDAF has beenfacilitating food supply and medical aid delivery to affected chil-dren; besides this, several efforts have also been made to supplyagricultural tools to refugees in the Northern and Easternregions. The signing of several military cooperation agreementsto combat the Boko Haram sect in order to facilitate aid deliveryto affected refugees is also a commendable effort by the govern-ment, though much remains undone as the terror activities havebeen persistent.7Despite such commendable efforts to reduce the chronicproblem of food shortage among refugee children, the preva-lence remains high. More refugees keep arriving in Cameroon,and limited donations and funds have also been hamperingthe relief efforts of aid agencies, thereby beckoning a changeof tactics and strategies besides intensified efforts to addressthe problem.Addressing the food needs of refugee children inthe priority regions of CameroonMost refugee parents are farmers, therefore supplying themwith improved seeds, farm tools, money and allocated farmlandsin host areas could reduce government spending, and increaseagricultural activities and hence food production, therebyincreasing food availability to refugee children. A successfulpractical case in point was the supply of farm tools to 6 676 indi-viduals in the Logone and Chari division of the Far North regionvia the UN system. The same strategy of promoting agricultureamong refugees could be extended to affected families inthese regions to boast food production.3 As applied in theEast region and the three Northern regions of Cameroon,3,7cash transfer to refugee families via mobile telephone networkssuch as Orange and MTN mobile money services could boastagri-business activities among refugees, which will lead to thegeneration of income and reduce poverty, besides enablingthem to purchase foodstuffs and afford basic healthcareservices.Damaged healthcare centres, especially in the Far North region,require urgent reconstruction and rehabilitation. Besides this,training and deployment of field healthcare workers will facili-tate the early diagnosis, registration and adequate managementof complicated cases of food insecurity among refugee childrensuch as malnutrition. In refugee camps, quasi health facilitiesshould be established; refugee parents with nursing skillscould also be recruited to educate and train other mothers onessentials of food hygiene and complementary feeding.The identification of malnourished refugee children is crucial tosaving the lives of such children. Relief agencies on the ground,through the use of community healthcare workers, shouldeducate refugee women on the basics of identifying malnour-ished children. This will lead to timely registration and com-mencement of essential healthcare intervention.Goodwill gestures, especially through financial donations to theCameroon government and also aid agencies, will foster theimplementation of targeted plans by these agencies. Moneywill enable the assistance of refugees, help in developmentalprojects, increase access to children, increase human resourcesavailable for food supply and also help in the supply of essentialfortified foods and medications to affected children. Financialaid will also enable the purchase, supply and distribution offarm tools to refugee farmers, besides funding refugee projects,especially in urban areas, to address poverty.Tackling the root causes of all forms of conflicts in the Sahelregion is pivotal to ending both the refugee crisis in Cameroonand food insecurity. Terror activities are motivated by frustra-tions, unemployment, political reasons and also selfish ambi-tions. Dialoguing with those perpetrating such acts andboosting employment for youths in such areas will greatlyaddress the refugee crisis and also reduce the number of intern-ally displaced persons in Cameroon. This requires mediationfrom international organisations such as the African Union(AU), United Nations Organization (UNO) and also friendlycountries. The effective resolution of conflicts in the affectedcountries will bring peace and development, boost theeconomy and end forced migration. The overall well-being ofeveryone would thereby be achieved.ConclusionMeeting the food needs of refugee children is a right of childrenand requires urgent actions. Resolution of conflicts in affectedparts of the Sahel region and Northern region of Cameroon ispivotal to ending the refugee crisis, thereby promoting theoverall well-being of children.References1. European Commission: Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection; SahelFood and Nutrition Echo Fact Sheet. March 2017, bit.ly/echo-fs2. Samuel NC, Geraldine S, Joyce MTG. Migration related malnutrition inwar-instigated part of Cameroon. South African J Clin Nut. 2017;4(1):1–3. ISSN 1607-0658, EISSN 2221-1268. http://doi.org/10.1080/1670658.2017.13885593. United Nations in Cameroon: Annual Report 2016.4. World Food Programme (WFP): Country Brief. May 2016. http://www.wfp.org/countries/cameroon5. World Food Programme (WFP): Country Brief. October 2017. www.wfp.org/countries6. World Food Programme Cameroon Country Brief, April 2017. http://www.wfp.org/countries/cameroon7. SAHEL: Cameroon, Chad, Mali and Niger; Humanitarian Crisis Analysis,February 2017.92 South African Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2019; 32(4):91–92

Meeting the food needs of refugee children in the northern and eastern regions of Cameroon: current challenges faced and strategies to overcome them

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Meeting the food needs of refugee children in the northern and eastern regions of Cameroon: current challenges faced and strategies to overcome them

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