Maroua - On 03 April 2024, a meeting was held under the chairmanship of Mr Évariste Atangana Zoa, Secretary to the Governor of the Far North Region, to plan support measures for the five thousand (5,000) Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) from the conflict in Logone Birni (Far North) currently settled in Bogo and Domayo in the Diamare department. The meeting, which brought together some thirty international organizations, United Nations agencies and government institutions was an opportunity to assess the needs for these returns and to discuss how to respond to these needs. 

The meeting opened with a speech by Mr Évariste Atangana Zoa, who congratulated the humanitarian organizations for their commitment to the Government of Cameroon in responding to the needs of people affected by the humanitarian crisis in the Far North region. He then spoke about the situation of the Bogo and Domayo IDPs, recalling their specific needs to be able to return to their localities of origin. 

Development, water and sanitation needs... 

In the field of Agriculture and Rural Development, the presentation given by the Regional Delegate, Mr Simplice Sadou, indicated the need for agricultural inputs (fertilizers, phytosanitary products, etc.), seeds and seedlings, estimated at 68,850,000 CFA francs. The Delegate for Livestock, Fisheries and Animal Industries, Dr Amadou Lahamdi, spoke of the need to purchase 2,400 small ruminants and 1,200 rams for redistribution, as well as products to remove parasites from animals and animal feed kits for the value of 123,000,000 CFA francs. According to the Regional Delegate for Water and Energy, Alphonse Hamadou, the needs in his area include the development and construction of drinking water supply infrastructures in 27 communities, and the construction of community latrines, at a cost of 119,000,000 CFA francs.  In terms of Housing and Urban Development, Regional Delegate Pierre Majila announced the need to build 660 shelters at a cost of 333,570 CFA francs per shelter, for a total of 220,156,660 CFA francs. 

Once the statement of needs had been made, the floor was given to development stakeholders to give their views on their contribution to the response. IOM, which is mainly involved in meeting shelter needs, has opted for concerted action within the Shelter-NFIs cluster, in order to provide IDPs with shelters depending on the availability of resources and in line with the procedures required for shelter construction. 

Since December 2021... 

New inter-community violence broke out in the Logone Birni district on 5 December 2021. At least 44 people lost their lives and more than 100 were injured. There was also considerable damage to homes and livelihoods. Fires, destruction and looting of homes, granaries and various socio-economic infrastructures were reported in 112 villages. The violence led to the internal displacement of more than 36,000 people in Cameroon and more than 35,000 to Chad. 

The Government of Cameroon and its development partners took action to respond to the needs of the people affected by the violence.  The IOM acted in the areas of mental health and psychosocial support, socio-economic integration, peacebuilding, and the construction and rehabilitation of sanitation, water and social cohesion infrastructures. These actions have helped to stabilize communities in crisis and improve the security and safety situation. As a result, a lull has been observed, which is why these IDPs are keen to return. 

* * *

For more information, please contact: 

• Clarnette Sodon, IOM Cameroon, Tel: 692555860, Email: csodon@iom.int  
• Elodie Ndeme Bodolo, IOM Cameroon, Tel: 691638957, Email: endeme@iom.int