CMR - Support for female refugees and malnourished children from CAF, NGA and CMR

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According to UNHCR, by September 2020, Cameroon had hosted around 306,000 refugees from the Central African Republic (CAR) and around 116,000 refugees from Nigeria. The situation in Cameroon is also exacerbated by the increasing number of internally displaced persons who, like refugees from the CAR and Nigeria, have mainly moved to the four regions of the Extreme North, North, Adamaoua and East. In these regions, refugees account for between 20% and 30% of the total population. Communities are barely able to respond to the increased needs of the predominantly poor population. There is a particular lack of food, access to clean drinking water and basic health care, especially for young women, pregnant women, mothers and their young children. The persistent malnutrition of many mothers can lead to physical and cognitive malformations in newborns. The reasons for the malnutrition of many mothers are often the very short intervals between births, the very young age and the frequent unwanted pregnancies. These reasons are exacerbated in refugee situations, where women are particularly vulnerable in connection with sexual violence. The overarching goal of the measure, which is financed by the special initiative Combating the Causes of Refugees - Reintegrating Refugees (SI Refugee), is therefore to improve the health and nutritional situation of refugees and the host population, in particular malnourished women and children under the age of 5, in the regions mentioned. This is to be achieved on the one hand by improving the nutritional situation and on the other hand by strengthening the role of women through improved opportunities for self-determined family planning.