Small shelters, some covered in the ubiquitous white sheeting provided by the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), dot the dusty grey sun-bleached plain around the village of Goura, in the far north-east of Cameroon.
For now, the 35,000 Nigerian refugees are safe in Cameroon, although many are once again putting themselves at risk by returning to Rann on foot, to collect a few personal possessions which were not looted or burnt.
Speaking to UN News on a visit to Goura, the UN Resident Coordinator in Cameroon, Allegra Baiocchi said, “I have seen many fearful people here. whose lives have been destroyed by Boko Haram.” The people who came here really had no choice. This is where they need to be now if they want to stay alive.”
The United Nations and its partners have responded to the sudden influx into Goura by providing basic services in what is now a makeshift refugee settlement. Some 13,000 people have received food rations and each registered refugee is getting six liters of clean water a day, some way below the recommended 15-litre minimum.
“The response from humanitarian workers here has been impressive in what is an extremely challenging environment,” the UNHCR, or UN refugee agency’s top official in Cameroon Geert Van de Casteele said in Goura. “We need to scale up the response keeping in mind the local population; that is the next step and I am hopeful we can achieve, with increased funding.”
In January, the UN, in coordination with the Government and aid partners, announced its 2019 Humanitarian Response Plan which focuses on the whole of the country, including areas affected by Boko Haram. Around 4.3 million Cameroonians, mostly women and children, are now in need of lifesaving assistance.
Original source: UN News
Published on 01 February 2019
