The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) is an independent humanitarian organisation helping people forced to flee We protect displaced people and support them as they build a new future The ceasefire between Israel and Hamas brings renewed hope to Gaza and we are ready to scale up our work to meet the enormous needs We started our relief efforts after World War Two we work in both new and protracted crises across 40 countries where we help save lives and rebuild futures NRC works to protect the rights of displaced people during crisis NORCAP works to better protect and empower people affected by crises and climate change We collaborate with partners on finding solutions to meet the needs of people at risk Get the latest news from our work in the field 2 December 2021, New York/Oslo/Yaoundé – Over 700,000 children have been impacted by school closures due to violence in the North-West and South-West regions of Cameroon, according to recent analysis by the United Nations humanitarian arm, UNOCHA The Secretary General of the Norwegian Refugee Council today called for an end to attacks on education in Cameroon during their joint visit to the country this week “This is among the most complex humanitarian crises in the world today Children and youth are having to flee their homes and schools are threatened with violence and kidnapping and being forced into early childhood marriage and recruited into armed groups,” said Yasmine Sherif “We call for urgent support from donors to respond to this forgotten crisis We call for the respect of human rights and adherence to the principles of international humanitarian law and the Safe Schools Declaration and for partners to redouble efforts so all children and adolescents can get back to the safety protection and hope that quality learning environments provide.” Two out of three schools are closed in the North-West and South-West regions of Cameroon, according to UNOCHA four children and one teacher were killed in an attack in Ekondo Titi in Cameroon’s South-West region A recent lockdown imposed by a non-state armed group limited access to basic services including health and education OCHA reported a series of attacks in the North-West and a girl’s fingers were chopped off after she tried to attend school Five public school principals were also kidnapped During the lockdown all schools and community learning spaces were closed except for some schools in a few urban areas which operated at less than 60 per cent capacity About 200,000 people did not receive food due to the interruption of humanitarian activities The lockdown and insecurity have forced UN agencies and aid organisations - including the Norwegian Refugee Council - to temporarily suspend the delivery of lifesaving aid to people in need in both the North-West and South-West regions Nine out of ten regions of Cameroon continue to be impacted by one of three complex humanitarian crises: the crisis in the North-West and South-West and a refugee crisis involving people who have fled the Central African Republic Over one million children need urgent education support because of these combined crises made even worse by COVID-19 and climate change impacts Education Cannot Wait (ECW) – the United Nations global fund for education in emergencies and protracted crises – is working closely with UN agencies the Norwegian Refugee Council and civil society education partners to build a multi-year resilience programme in Cameroon ECW is contributing US$25 million over three years and calls for other donors to fill the gap which is estimated at $50 million the programme will provide approximately 250,000 children and adolescents with access to safe and protective learning environments in the most-affected areas The programme builds on the impact from ECW’s ongoing First Emergency Response in Cameroon the investment is designed to ensure refugee children fleeing from the Central African Republic receive access to quality Video b-roll and high resolution photos of the visit and children in school is free to download here. Anouk Desgroseilliers, adesgroseilliers@un-ecw.org In Cameroon: Michelle Delaney, mide@nrc.no NRC global media hotline: media@nrc.no Education Cannot Wait (ECW) is the United Nations global fund for education in emergencies and protracted crises We support quality education outcomes for refugee internally displaced and other crisis-affected girls and boys ECW works through the multilateral system to both increase the speed of responses in crises and connect immediate relief and longer-term interventions through multi-year programming On Twitter, please follow: @EduCannotWait @YasmineSherif1 @KentPage  The Norwegian Refugee Council is an international humanitarian organization helping people forced to flee We work in new and protracted crises across 35 countries We have been working in Cameroon since 2017 +47 23 10 98 00nrc@nrc.no +47 90 56 23 29media@nrc.no fundraising@nrc.no Over 90 per cent of our global revenue goes directly to fulfil our purpose Close Sections Urgent international funding is needed to help more than 700,000 children whose schools have been closed by conflict in Cameroon Two-thirds of schools have been shut in the North-West and South-West regions according to the United Nations humanitarian agency UNOCHA Attacks on education include the killing of four children and a teacher last week in Ekondo Titi eight students and five head teachers were kidnapped and a girl’s fingers were chopped off after she tried to attend school Director of Education Cannot Wait and Jan Egeland Secretary General of the Norwegian Refugee Council meet students at the Souza Gare school in Cameroon (ECW/Daniel Beloumou) “Putting a schoolbag on your back shouldn’t make you a target Yet children here risk their lives every day just showing up for school Cameroon’s education mega-emergency needs international attention not deadly silence by the outside world,” said Jan Egeland He was talking during a visit to Cameroon with Yasmine Sherif Director of the Education Cannot Wait (ECW) fund She said: “Children and youth are having to flee their homes and schools and are being forced into early childhood marriage and recruited into armed groups We call for urgent support from donors to respond to this forgotten crisis.”  ECW is contributing $25 million over three years to education programmes and is calling for other donors to fill the estimated $50 million gap More than 600 primary schools will receive the funding needed to enrol 25,000 out-of-school children in Somalia It will help them expand access to quality education in underserved areas – particularly for girls vulnerable children and those with disabilities A similar drive last year saw 37,000 children go to school for the first time Investment in education is essential in Somalia where only 27% of primary-aged children and 25% of primary-aged girls are in school The grants from the country’s national and state education ministries are supported by the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) They will also help to expand schools’ infrastructure and allow them to take on additional students in future schools and governments are struggling to cope with the impact of the pandemic This funding will help get more children into classrooms and support efforts to transform the education system to be more equitable and inclusive.”  Hundreds of Afghan girls took entrance exams in Kabul – despite the Taliban stopping girls from returning to secondary education About 3,500 students sat exams for the Afghan-Turk school system run by a Turkish foundation with girls making up almost 40% of candidates This is our president’s and our government’s wish and that of Afghans,” said Changez Idmir Educational Councillor at Kabul’s Turkish Embassy Afghan-Turk schools are highly regarded and admission is very competitive But they have had to make changes to their curriculum – shutting music theatre and dance departments at the request of Taliban officials One in eight of the world’s children – more than 330 million – live in conflict zones where they are at risk of becoming child soldiers. That’s three times the rate in 1990, according to a new report Save the Children said increasing school access is vital in fighting forced recruitment by armed groups and government forces “It’s simply horrifying that in the shadow of Covid-19 and the UN’s call for a global ceasefire more children than ever before are caught in the crosshairs of the deadliest war zones … and more likely to be injured recruited or killed,” said Inger Ashing Save the Children International’s chief executive The charity said lack of educational opportunities is a leading cause of children being recruited – a problem been made worse by the pandemic shutting down schools It’s widely known that early learning is crucial in laying the foundations for a child’s education and giving them the skills needed to succeed in later life But a new study reveals that the environment in a child’s home also affects brain function in old age Researchers at the University of Haifa in Israel found that the more books there were in childhood homes the slower the decline in cognitive function in old age Exposure to books – not necessarily reading them – is key It can increase the cognitive abilities of children who learn to enjoy reading acquiring education and other cognitive skills “Developing cognitive abilities in childhood can produce ‘reserves’ that protect the brain from degeneration in old age,” said Dr Galit Weinstein See all news and ways that you can take action to tackle the global education crisis Theirworld is a global children’s charity committed to ending the global education crisis and unleashing the potential of the next generation Over 700,000 children have been impacted by school closures due to often brutal violence inCameroon according to an analysis released by the UN humanitarian arm,OCHA Two out of three schools are closed in the North-West and South-West regions of the country four children and one teacher were killed in an attack in Ekondo Titi You have selected an article from the AllAfrica archive, which requires a subscription. You can subscribe by visiting our subscription page. Or for more information about becoming a subscriber, you can read our subscription and contribution overview You can also freely access - without a subscription - hundreds of today's top Africa stories and thousands of recent news articles from our home page » AllAfrica publishes around 500 reports a day from more than 110 news organizations and over 500 other institutions and individuals representing a diversity of positions on every topic We publish news and views ranging from vigorous opponents of governments to government publications and spokespersons Publishers named above each report are responsible for their own content which AllAfrica does not have the legal right to edit or correct Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica. To address comments or complaints, please Contact us Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you There was a problem processing your submission “We are deeply worried by the ongoing conflict and the increasing displacement figures Parties to the conflict must ensure that civilians in the area are protected and are able to safely access life-saving assistance,” said David Manan Country Director for the Norwegian Refugee Council in Cameroon The number of people displaced from their homes in Cameroon’s Anglophone Southwest and Northwest regions and in neighbouring Littoral and West regions has reached 437.000, according to the latest UN estimates. NRC is assisting people displaced by this crisis as insecurity is hindering organisations from accessing many areas People are without proper shelter and sanitation facilities “The needs we are witnessing in the Southwest and Northwest regions are alarming and there are too few agencies on the ground to provide the necessary aid due to limited funding We call for more donors to prioritise this crisis to allow more agencies to respond so that we can stem the rising tide of suffering and displacement,” said Manan “Displaced families who receive our assistance have told us that they share it or give it to their relatives who did not yet receive any assistance and desperately need help Many people are hiding in the bush with no support fearing for their lives,” added Manan “This is the first time I am being helped since I fled,” said Annoh “I will share what I have received with my husband who is hiding in the bush He has nothing but the clothes he was wearing when he fled,” she added shelter and hygiene kits in Northwest and Southwest regions with support from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (NMFA) and European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO) The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) is a humanitarian organisation working in more than 30 countries globally It has been present in Cameroon since 2017 NRC media hotline: +4790562329, info@nrc.no How a Teacher Finds the Courage to Do Her Job Despite Risks to Her Life took a full-time position teaching history at a school just outside Buea the capital of Cameroon’s Anglophone South-West region she had no idea that her profession would put her life at risk  Here are five things to know about the humanitarian crisis in Far North Cameroon:  Cameroon is second only to Nigeria in suffering the effects of Boko Haram’s attacks Boko Haram’s attacks on Cameroonian soil have led to multiple displacements in the country’s Far North region about 241,000 Cameroonians remain internally displaced targeted killings and village destructions perpetrated by Boko Haram have decreased since the beginning of the year displacements are still recorded in areas of continuing insecurity and where counter-offensive operations are taking place The Far North region of Cameroon shelters more than 95,000 Nigerian refugees who have also fled Boko Haram violence in their country Sixty-five per cent of Nigerian refugees live in the Minawao camp the only official refugee camp in the country Some have been living in the camp since it first opened in July 2013 More than 60 per cent of the camp’s population is under 18 years of age Civilians are being deliberately targeted by violence and are being affected by actions taken by the warring parties a state Humanitarians refer to as a “protection crisis” This includes when Boko Haram fighters attack schools and target students and teachers or when aid workers are not allowed access to areas where populations are in need and suffering Education has suffered greatly in the midst of the crisis. At least 92 primary schools remain closed because of the insecurity in the Far North of Cameroon It is estimated that about 23,000 school-aged children are out of school and most schools lack basic equipment to host students have exacerbated structural problems that have existed for years in Far North Cameroon which was the poorest part of the country even before the outbreak of the conflict has suffered from economic under-development and lack of investment it was estimated that 74 per cent of the population were living below the poverty line compared to an average of 37.5 per cent in the country as a whole Cameroon — Officials in Cameroon say armed separatists have chased several thousand children from schools just days after the students returned to classrooms for the first time in years Troops sent to restore school security in the western regions say they have killed at least 13 rebels in clashes over the last month Cameroon's military says separatist attacks this month on western villages The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) has started up in Cameroon to help support the many displaced families “Cameroon is affected by a triple crisis; The conflicts in neighbouring Central African Republic and Nigeria have forced a large number of people to seek protection in Cameroon At the same time the conflict in Nigeria is spilling over forcing people inside Cameroon to flee their homes a devastating food crisis is affecting parts of the country,” said Sylvain Charmoy The country is currently housing 325,000 refugees. In addition, 228,000 people from Cameroon are displaced within their own country, according UN figures 1.6 million people in the country are in need of humanitarian assistance NRC did a first aid distribution to some of the displaced families in the Far North region “Some families have arrived in the settlements for displaced people with nothing so that they can set up some kind of shelter,” said Philippe Douryang This initial distributions took place in Logone-and-Chari department in the Far North close to Lake Chad and the Nigerian border suicide attacks and raids on villages in the region cause insecurity both for the civilians and for humanitarians trying to reach out with basic assistance few people have been able to farm in this part of the country Now the area is affected by severe lack of food,” said Douryang “Most people in the host community have also been unable to farm but they have received some food assistance Now the displaced people are cutting and collecting wood which they sell to the host community in return for something to eat,” he added He is deeply worried by what he has witnessed in the area and stresses the need for more assistance.  “It is hard to get assistance into these areas and the upcoming rainy season will complicate things further we cannot avoid responding to the needs,” said Douryang Funding from private donors has enabled NRC to start up in Cameroon a country which is often neglected by the international community the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) has financed the recent emergency distribution UN and humanitarian partners have appealed for about $ 300 million to cover basic humanitarian needs in Cameroon in 2017 only 25 per cent of the funding needed has been covered unless there is a substantial increase in the funds to help people affected by hunger and displacement in the Far North,” said Sylvain Charmoy supporting the humanitarian community in Cameroon on gender I have been able to observe the shortcomings that scarce financial resources and subsequent limited response capacities generate 4.4 million people across Cameroon need aid and protection Cameroon is the scene of three simultaneous protection and humanitarian crises affecting eight of its ten regions: Increased violence in the Lake Chad Basin has led to the displacement of over 320,000 people and to the arrival of around 114,000 Nigerian refugees Cameroon is the second most affected country by the Lake Chad crisis as peaceful protests over the marginalization of the two English-speaking regions by the Government has transformed into violent actions leading to a conflict between pro-independence groups and Cameroon’s army This major sociopolitical crisis bears a myriad of implications on education It has also led to the displacement of more than 700,000 people and the killing of over 3,500 civilians the Eastern regions of the country host over 300,000 refugees from the Central African Republic Humanitarian needs are compounded by structural development deficits and chronic vulnerabilities that also challenge the long-term recovery of affected people The coronavirus pandemic has further aggravated the situation of millions of people affecting their health and threatening their livelihood: The country ranks among the 10 most-affected African countries with the highest number of COVID-19 positive cases and of armed violence affecting an ever-growing number of countries and yet primarily apprehended in military terms donors are called upon to make difficult choices on which vulnerable population to assist or not This explains why Humanitarian Response Plans (HRP) are never entirely funded But other reasons come into play on why certain crises are less generously supported Despite the magnitude of the humanitarian and protection crises in Cameroon that has been alarmingly escalating during these past years the country hasn’t received the attention it deserves from the international community It has been among the most underfunded humanitarian crises worldwide the country was the third least funded Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) worldwide receiving 44 percent of the funds requested the country received 50 percent of the funding it was pleading for While the crises have generated or exacerbated protection risks with heightened levels of gender-based violence against women and girls and with distinct threats to life and personal security primarily affecting adolescent boys and men the protection sector and sub-sectors have remained particularly underfunded development funding to address the root causes of the humanitarian needs has also remained limited In spite of the multiple consequences the crises in Cameroon have generated the situation has received to date limited media coverage the humanitarian community in Cameroon targets three million people in need of urgent assistance As the national authorities have had a distinct appreciation about the scale and severity of displacement and of humanitarian needs this could blur the international community’s vision on the severity of the situation and render the allocation of funds even harder Lack of funding bears direct implications on the humanitarian community’s ability to address distinct protection and assistance needs and to provide an inclusive and efficient response It means difficulties hiring dedicated staff on gender issues and that time and resources to build capacity or to conduct gender analyses are missing It also calls for an overly rigorous prioritisation of those to assist humanitarian organisations not being able to provide an assistance equal to the needs several organisations in the North West and South West recognise the importance of providing protection and assistance tailored to adolescent boys and men’s needs as they are particularly exposed to specific forms of discrimination and violence from State Armed Forces and  the non-State armed groups due to competing priorities and limited resources actors on the ground are often unable to develop adequate Read: A failure to address the vulnerability of men and boys Funding scarcity and subsequent gaps in response capacity often entail an exclusive focus on shorter term that do not examine how gender roles and power dynamics generate and exacerbate vulnerability The Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) gender policy and individual agencies’ policies increasingly call for gender transformative interventions in emergencies This means tackling the root causes of gender inequality and reshaping unequal power relations this rarely translates in actual programmes that entail to work simultaneously with women and that should ideally be conjointly run by humanitarian could provide a meaningful response to existing gender-based vulnerabilities.  For instance addressing threats affecting adolescent boys and men in the North West and South West by providing protection and livelihood support would help create a protective environment for girls that has left many lone women bearing the brunt of family responsibilities with more burden and with more frontline activities that place their own safety at risk It would also mitigate men’s distress and the consecutive tensions that have led to a significant upsurge in household violence It would also bear longer term benefits for the protection and cohesion of the communities: The shortage of adequate protective measures and lack of economic alternatives offered to the male youth constitute a fertile soil for non-State armed groups to recruit more boys and men into their ranks Delphine Brun is an Inter-Agency GenCap adviser for Cameroon The views expressed in this article are the ones of the author and should not be understood as reflecting the position of OCHA Every year, events such as the International Women’s Day rightfully sheds light on the structural gender-based discriminations that girls and women bear, and that are exacerbated in times of crises In the north-west and south-west regions of Cameroon where the socio-political crisis women and girls struggle to make ends meet face violence and often lack access to essential services such as education and healthcare With the killing or exile of their husbands they often have to navigate an unnerving new reality where all responsibilities lie on their shoulders While there is an undisputed need for the humanitarian response to address the risks affecting women and girls the patchy attention that has been given to adolescent boys and men has not allowed for understanding of the gendered impact that crisis has on them Adolescent boys and men face specific threats and circumstances that leave them vulnerable. Analysis of protection incidents in the south-west region demonstrates that while girls and women are exposed to heightened risks of gender-based violence more than nine out of ten people exposed to arbitrary arrests extra-judicial executions and disappearance are males Being a man or a boy also means being more exposed to targeted armed attacks with greater risks of injury or death directly related to the conflict This peculiar exposure to threats is explained by the specific forms of discrimination from the military authorities and from the non-state armed groups it is also them who are perceived as threats by both parties “When the crisis metamorphosed into an armed conflict the youth was a target for the separatists the militaries could not think that a young man could be neutral Women and girls didn’t face this suspicion Often accused as prime suspects whenever any party is attacked and hurt any attempt to adopt a neutral stand is doomed to fail: Not giving information is interpreted as a sign of being accomplice doesn’t in any way reduce insecurity: “There’s no safe position you can adopt” This prevalent atmosphere of insecurity is aggravated by the fact that many people lack identity documents that have been lost While women and girls can usually manage to move around and cross check points without carrying proper documentation men and boys face tremendous risks of being arrested the male population who has not fled has often reduced its economic and social life to the bear minimum Boys and men must at all times stay on their guard because of the fear of being denounced by military or separatist groups’ spies allowing them to play the socially expected role of provider for the family For the younger men and boys, loss of employment and increased poverty often combines with attacks on education further reinforcing their isolation and lack of prospects If vulnerability is defined by both the external threats characterising a specific environment and by the coping capacity of those experiencing that environment adolescent boys and men can clearly be described as a vulnerable group With no immediate solution foreseen to the ongoing crisis adolescent boys and men feel dispossessed of control over their life and their future: Lack of proper documentation Emotions can remain ‘locked inside’ due to the prevailing view that being a real man is about being tough and not showing fear or sadness In a society where men are expected to protect and to provide they often find themselves incapable of fulfilling what is seen and what they understand as being their roles Men adopt different strategies to cope with the situation some decide to join the non-state armed groups to get money and to place their families under the group’s protection who have previously been working as cash crop farmers decide to engage in livelihood activities such as food crops that were the domain of women prior to the crisis stay at home and resign themselves to immobility To allow their wife to have more time to work outside the house some of them increasingly play a caregiving and domestic role engaging in these socially devalued and often invisible tasks that have been the domain of girls and women Because “women can move where men used to go” they also send their wives to get humanitarian assistance Due to the demographic imbalance the conflict created playing the role of heads of households and providers for the family They have engaged in a range of economic and social activities Some have resorted to undertaking risky activities such as crossing borders as spies or to buy contraband They are now the ones digging the graves and burying dead bodies the conflict has also opened space for women to play higher public roles mobilising in favour of peace and having more say in community decisions  But these heightened economic and social roles are not always synonymous with a genuine empowerment Examining the inter-connections and relations between different groups in crisis-affected communities forces us to recognise that failing to address the vulnerability and needs of adolescent boys and men has direct with more burden and responsibilities and with more frontline activities that place their own safety at risk lack of prospects and the inability to conform to dominant and yet unattainable models of masculinity affects the male population’s well-being and sense of self-worth.  It generates frustration often leading to addictions and mental illness which in turn may create or exacerbate protection risks for the wider community There is evidence that the distress men face has increased tensions that lead to a significant upsurge in household violence Failing to adequately acknowledge the devastating implications the crisis has had on boys and men in terms of protection is not allowing to address their needs and how this affects the wider community including an understanding of how the lives of men their needs and realities affecting each other needs to be analysed to develop responses that are truly evidence-based The women of Bomboyo used to travel long distances to fetch water for their livestock and to use for house chores The one-way journey of about 3 kilometres would take up to one hour and was not always safe for the women this changed after the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) in Cameroon had heard about the risks the women were taking the task of providing water for households falls disproportionately on women and girls fetching water does not need be a risky and tiresome task has seen its population increase following the arrival of several hundreds of internally displaced people fleeing violence It is estimated that 616 internally displaced people and 13 returnees have temporarily settled in Bomboyo which is normally home to around 2000 people This has made already scarce water resource Seeking to identify the pressing needs of the women and men of Bomboyo Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) unit chose to conduct focus group discussions They found out that the community had two broken boreholes the NRC team made repairs and replaced the drainage systems the community had now quick and safe access to water The women no longer needed to take risks by walking long distances it takes less than 20 minutes for women to fetch water in this rural area where the public water system has never been installed just like most rural areas of Cameroon "Before [the] rehabilitation of the borehole I have more time for farm work through which I bring food for my family," said Amina Amina is a member of the Water Management Committee and in charge of managing the budget collected to ensure the maintenance of the boreholes the men and women of Bomboyo have saved together the amount of 20,000 Francs CFA (approximately 10 USD) to ensure they remain well-maintained In order to guarantee a fair representation of the existing population and avoid tensions between communities each committee is comprised of both members from the host community and displaced people Not only do initiatives like in Bomboyo - funded by EU humanitarian and UK aid - help improve the quality of life of women and girls by providing access to safe water and reducing the risk of waterborne and hygiene-related diseases Over 90 per cent of our global revenue goes directly to fulfil our purpose.