Thousands of children malnourished and uneducated in Cameroon’s ‘silent emergency’

An influx of refugees from is creating a ‘silent emergency,’ in Cameroon, an international charity said today.

More than 60,000 people have taken refuge in the western African nation, after fleeing kidnappings and killings by armed groups and bandits in the Central African Republic (CAR).

There are no refugee camps and Central Africans have been living peacefully among Eastern Cameroonians for the past five years. The generous hosts have shared all the necessary resources, including land, food, water and schools for refugee children.

But there is rising tension below the surface and resources are becoming increasingly strained, child malnutrition is at a serious level and school facilities are limited, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said in a report out today.

"There has been an overwhelming hospitality by the Cameroonian Government towards these refugees," said UNICEF Representative in Cameroon Ora Musu Clemens. "The borders remain open, and the CAR people are welcome to come and take refuge here. But these communities are very fragile already."

"It has reached an urgent level, but no one knows," said Ms Clemens. "There has been very little attention to the situation, and that is why we are calling this a 'silent emergency'."

Mostly from the region’s Mbororo ethnic group, these refugees are nomadic farmers and have a long history of shepherding their cattle across the Cameroon-CAR border, which is why they have fitted in so well with Cameroon communities. But many of them have lost most or all of their cattle and are struggling to feed their families on monthly handouts from the United Nations. Child malnutrition is on the rise.

The Mbororo are at a loss for money buy food and because the population has grown while the amount of food and crops has stayed the same, the region has seen severe child malnutrition among both refugee children (at nearly 20 per cent), and local children, UNICEF said.

Mother and CAR refugee, Absatu, has been staying at a feeding centre near the border. Her oldest son is five years old but looks much younger, the report said. Absatu took him to the centre because he became so malnourished, he could no longer walk.

"My husband is gone... most of the month trying to sell the few cows we have left," she said. "When he comes back, he will have enough money for maybe a week or two. Then he leaves again, and I have to fend for the family. There just isn't any food."

Schooling is becoming more of a problem too. Attendance has nearly doubled in eastern Cameroon in 2008, but about two-thirds of the 28,000 refugee children still are not in school and less than a third of refugee girls are in school.