Helping 10,500 Cameroonian Refugees in Chad: The Details of our Emergency Response

Conflict in the Cameroonian border area of Kousseri has forced more than 82,000 Cameroonian refugees to flee to Chad once again. Oxfam is rolling out an emergency response to improve hygiene and sanitary conditions for these refugees, to limit the risk of illnesses, including coivd-19 and cholera, and to help identify cases of violations or incidents involving refugees by working with community protection services in the host communities and displaced people. This will allow for possible cases of protection incidents to be directed to the appropriate structures for assistance. This emergency response targets 10,500 people and will last from the end of December 2021 to March 2022. 

We are handing out 653 hygiene kits made up of plastic mats, blankets, 20 L containers, 21 L plastic buckets with lids, mosquito nets, soap and small plastic kettles. We also distributed 200 feminine hygiene kits. Prior to this, a series of public awareness sessions on the use of the kits and proper hygiene habits were held in the refugee camps of Kabé, Kaliwa and Nguelbanti. So far, we've been able to reach out to more than 650 people.

"The items I have just received will help me protect myself from the cold and improve my living conditions," says Ms. Fatimé, a Cameroonian refugee in her sixties living in the Kabé camp in Chad.

The second phase of this initiative will see the construction of 100 showers and 70 emergency toilets, as well as the construction of two boreholes equipped with human-powered pumps. "Oxfam is responding urgently to prevent diseases, reduce health risks and ensure the dignity of the refugees," says Dok-Honne Bagounly, Oxfam's WASH Coordinator in Chad.

Oxfam is working with community-based protection committees in the various camps to identify existing structures to handle protection incidents, to carry out rapid assessments of protection issues, and to conduct dialogues between host communities and refugees. In addition, a number of activities will be carried out to advocate for Cameroonian women, men, girls and boys who have found refuge in the city of Ndjamena. A financial allowance is given to victims of sexual violence to cover the fees of care services. Finally, in order to reduce the risk of protection incidents due to lack of lighting, a total of 500 solar lamps with a photovoltaic charging system will be provided to 500 women.