Exacerbating Situation Of Nigeria Refugee's In Cameroon And Niger

Cameroon, June 23, 2015 (Newswire.com) - Plan International is urgently calling for more assistance for Nigeria refugees, displaced populations and hosts communities, especially for children that are the most vulnerable and the most affected, in the Far-North of Cameroon and in Niger as the influx of new refugees is increasing.

As of the 2nd of June 2015 the UNHCR has registered 39,970 refugees in the Minawao camp with about 3000 of refugees living in the camp and in the process of registration and 12,487 refugees living in the host community.

According to Henri Noel Tatangang, Disaster Risk Specialist for Plan International West Africa Office, Minawao camp is overwhelmed and children are particularly affected by this situation as about 73 % of refugees are under 18 Years. They are in great need of assistance with regards to water, food, health, education, protection and shelter.

 “In Niger, in Diffa, we support refugees with shelter kits and our coming activities will be focusing on children; the most important for us is to preserve their dignity and help them rebuild a new life”, said, Sokhna Ndiaye, Deputy Country Director of Plan in Niger.

More than 100.000 people are targeted.

Child friendly spaces and learning spaces for children have been built in the Minawao camp, with local partners. Teachers have been trained on child protection and education in emergency to reinforce their capacities to take care of vulnerable children in the classroom.

In order to improve sanitation and hygiene conditions, Plan International Cameroon has constructed boreholes, latrines with bathing facilities, dustbins and waste pits. Basics items to make life bearable in the camp including kitchen sets, mosquito nets, blankets, tents, jerry cans, water tanks and hygiene kits have been distributed by the organisation.

“It is our duty in line with the humanitarian imperative to bring aid to the refugee children as well as to their families in Minawao, the displaced populations in various parts of the Far North and the host communities suffering from this pressure”, said  Bell'Aube Houinato, Plan International Country Director in Cameroon

“We chose to focus the majority of our interventions on sanitation and water, shelter, child protection, nutrition, education in emergency, nonfood items and livelihood. Our response must especially be far-sighted due to the increasing influx of refugees in Minawao Camp and the impending rainy season and the Cholera cases reported in the Nigerian border towns where some of the refugees are coming from’’.

Plan International is scaling up its response in the Far North of Cameroon and in Niger, and calls for an immediate, coordinated and massive resource mobilization in favor of Children and communities, the silent victims of the Nigeria crisis.