Cameroon

Country Program

Welcoming refugees, supporting communities at risk.

In Cameroon since 2014, the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) World Service responds to internal needs caused by crises and conflicts in neighboring countries. It assists refugees from Nigeria and the Central African Republic (CAR), as well as internally displaced persons (IDPs), host communities, and returnees. In 2021, the country program provided 243,000 individuals with access to education and vocational training as well as other livelihood opportunities. At the same time, social cohesion and conflict prevention activities ensure the sustainability of these achievements.

Cameroon is currently hosting refugees from the Central African Republic and Nigeria, as well as a number of people internally displaced by cross-border fighting between Boko Haram, attacking Nigeria, and Cameroonian coalition forces in addition to the socio-political crisis that persists in the North West and South West of Cameroon.

These two protection and displacement crises are made worse by chronic food insecurity and malnutrition, especially in the Extreme North region. The influx of refugees and IDPs has overstretched the resources of the host communities which have welcomed them, and as a result, humanitarian needs have increased substantially. The highest needs are in the areas of protection, food security, and malnutrition, as well as water and sanitation (WASH), shelter, livelihoods, health, and education. More than half of the people in need are women and children.

Update 27 January 2023