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Current Requirements (US$)$359.3 million
Crisis overview
3.3 million people in Cameroon are in need of humanitarian assistance. Armed conflict and insecurity, climatic shocks, disease outbreaks, and the influx of Central African Republic (CAR) refugees, are affecting populations in the Far North, the North-West, South-West (NWSW), and the eastern regions. Humanitarian needs are compounded by structural development weaknesses and chronic vulnerabilities. There are more than 1 million internally displaced people (IDPs), nearly 700,000 returnees, and almost 440,000 refugees and asylum seekers in the country.
2.5 million people in crisis-affected regions are facing acute food insecurity, a 9 per cent increase compared to 2024. More than 255,000 children are at risk of acute malnutrition. Floods have impacted over 85,000 hectares of farmland, further jeopardizing access to food and livelihood.
Civilians continue to face significant protection risks. Women and girls are particularly vulnerable to gender-based violence (GBV), while men and boys are at high risk of arbitrary arrest, detention, death, and injury. Since January 2024, over 54,000 GBV cases were reported in the far north, north-west and south-west regions. Mental health and psychosocial needs are extensive, made worse by limited access to services. Destruction of property is depriving many people their right to housing.
In the far north, 476,000 IDPs reside, a 5 per cent increase compared to 2024. Over 95 per cent of them fled due to armed conflict and insecurity. In addition to insecurity, floods have affected nearly 460,000 people and deprived almost 150,000 people of access to safe drinking water. The region also hosts 120,287 Nigerian refugees. The Minawao refugee camp is saturated. Critical needs in food security, nutrition, protection, health, shelter/NFI, WASH and education.
East region, Djribrilla, Cameroon
A refugee from CAR now lives in Boubara. Humanitarians struggle to access the hundreds of thousands of refugees from CAR and provide them with basic services.
NRC/Patricia PouheLess than 50 per cent of assessed IDPs have access to safe drinking water. Hundreds of thousands of children face school dropouts and child marriage and risks of family separation, forced recruitment by non-state armed groups, and arbitrary arrest and detention. Women and girls are exposed to significant sexual violence, intimate partner violence, and forced marriage threats.
More than 334,000 people in the NWSW are still displaced due to insecurity. Local populations continue to suffer from the consequences of ongoing armed violence, including targeted attacks, killings, abductions, and inter-communal clashes. There are acute needs in protection, health, education, access to potable water and food. Since the beginning of the year, 43 schools and 14 health centers have been targeted. Sexual violence is on the rise. At least 23 incidents involving humanitarian workers have been reported, including the abduction of 41 staff. Regular lockdowns and roadblocks continued to restrict civilians’ movements and humanitarian access.
The country hosts more than 281,000 refugees from CAR, mainly in the eastern regions of North, Adamawa and East, who have very limited access to basic services and livelihoods.
Overall, humanitarian needs in 2025 are expected to persist in crisis-affected regions. Violence, coupled with recurrent climatic shocks and disease outbreaks, will continue to exacerbate affected peoples' vulnerabilities. The Humanitarian Country Team (HCT) has decided to maintain strategic continuity with the 2024 needs analysis scope and prioritization, focusing on shock-affected regions and population groups affected by the crisis: IDPs, returnees, refugees, host communities, and ‘those left behind’.
Far North region, Cameroon
A woman and her two daughters in the Palia-Pouss IDP site, displaced by flooding.
OCHA/Bibiane MouangueResponse priorities in 2025
As of 30 September 2024, more than 1.5 million individuals have received humanitarian assistance, including 519,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs), 157,000 refugees, and 184,000 returnees. Over 823,000 women and girls were reached with humanitarian assistance and protection services as well as 902,000 children and over 237,000 people with disabilities. The Far North region accounted for 59 per cent of the humanitarian response, the NWSW for 36 per cent and CAR refugees’ response, 5 per cent.
The 2025 response will build on the 2024 strategic prioritization decisions, including its geographical scope, as analysis shows key drivers and aggravating factors are unlikely to significantly change.
However, ongoing displacement and persistent insecurity in certain areas are likely to heighten the vulnerability of affected populations, exacerbating the severity of inter-sectoral needs in some areas. The 2025 response plan targets 2.1 million people in the Far North, NWSW, and eastern regions.
A principled, effective and inclusive humanitarian response will prioritize people in divisions reporting the highest levels of inter-sectoral needs severity, including in hard-to-reach areas. The response will be developed as closely as possible with affected people, listening to their concerns and priorities. Interventions will be adapted to the distinct protection and assistance needs of women, girls, men, boys, older people and people with disabilities.
South-West region, Cameroon
Abraham, a farmer, was forced to stop farming because of the crisis.
NRC/Patricia PouheThe response will focus on providing life-saving assistance, enhancing protection, and strengthening local communities' resilience to new shocks. Drawing on climate shocks and risk-informed analysis, including lessons learned and best practices from 2024, the humanitarian community will work on enhancing emergency preparedness and promoting anticipatory action initiatives. This will aim at strengthening the collective capacity to mitigate the humanitarian impacts of climate-related shocks, such as floods and droughts, and to effectively respond to disease outbreaks.
In continuity with 2024 HCT engagements, the response strategy will continue to promote and contribute to finding durable solutions for protracted displacement in collaboration with national and local authorities and development actors.
Through the 2025 Humanitarian Response Plan, sectors and humanitarian actors have reaffirmed their collective commitment to effectively mainstream protection, accountability to affected populations, gender, inclusion and disability as well as prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse as key strategic and operational priorities to keep people at the centre throughout all stages of the humanitarian program cycle. Multipurpose cash interventions will be promoted thanks to strengthened inter-agency coordination and capacity building. In the Far North region, partners will build on 2024 accomplishments to enhance effective coordination through the nexus approach and synergies with the regional development plans. The humanitarian community will pursue its localization agenda to strengthen national partners’ role in coordination and response, partnerships and funding opportunities.
Financial requirements
The humanitarian response in Cameroon will require an estimated $355 million to provide rapid, principled, inclusive and accountable life-saving assistance to 2.1 million targeted people, focusing on the most vulnerable groups.
The HRP budget requirements are based on the project-costing methodology. The projects included in the 2025 HRP are developed based on assessed needs and validated by sector coordinators in alignment with the HRP objectives, and their respective sectoral strategies, targets and frameworks.
The 2025 HRP budget represents a decrease of approximately $15 million compared to the 2024 HRP, a reduction of approximately 4 per cent. This decrease is due to several factors, including the reduction of the target caseload as a result of the needs assessment and response prioritization, and the focus on crisis-affected areas in the Far North, North-West, South-West and Eastern regions.
Evolution of the humanitarian response
19-May-2025
Evolution of the humanitarian response
| Year | Type | People in need | People targeted | Requirements ($) | Funding ($) | % Funded |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 |
3.3 million
|
2.1 million
|
$359.3 million
|
$38 million
|
10.6%
|
|
| 2024 |
3.4 million
|
2.3 million
|
$371.4 million
|
$167.9 million
|
45.2%
|
|
| 2023 |
4.7 million
|
2.7 million
|
$407.3 million
|
$141.2 million
|
34.7%
|
|
| 2022 |
3.9 million
|
2.6 million
|
$376 million
|
$205.8 million
|
54.7%
|
|
| 2021 |
4.4 million
|
3 million
|
$361.6 million
|
$193.3 million
|
53.5%
|
|
| 2020 |
6.3 million
|
3.4 million
|
$390.9 million
|
$193.1 million
|
49.4%
|
|
| 2019 |
4.3 million
|
2.3 million
|
$298.9 million
|
$129.8 million
|
43.4%
|
|
| 2018 |
3.3 million
|
1.3 million
|
$319.7 million
|
$144.3 million
|
45.1%
|
|
| 2017 |
HRP
|
|
|
$238.1 million
|
$117.5 million
|
49.4%
|
| 2016 |
HRP
|
|
|
$232.2 million
|
$159.4 million
|
68.6%
|
2024 in review: Response highlights and consequences of inaction
Response highlights
In 2024, some 3.4 million people living in Cameroon needed humanitarian assistance and protection. As of 30 September, humanitarian partners have reached more than 1.5 million people in crises-affected areas.
Education
More than 158,000 people were provided with access to formal and non-formal education including girls, boys and adolescents.
Food security
A total of 362,000 people received food, agriculture, and livelihood support, including through cash transfers.
Health
Over 726,000 people received essential healthcare, including in hard-to-reach areas through mobile clinics.
Nutrition
Partners reached more than 218,000 people including children with nutrition services and life-saving treatment for severe and acute malnutrition.
Protection
Partners provided protection services to 85,000 people, including 40,000 people with gender-based violence services, 65,000 people with child protection services, and 37,000 people with legal assistance and counselling on housing, land and property.
Shelter and NFIs
More than 103,000 people received emergency shelter items and NFI assistance.
Water, sanitation and hygiene
Nearly 1 million benefited from sustainable access to safe drinking water, basic sanitation and hygiene services.
Consequences of inaction
Without immediate intervention, Cameroon’s humanitarian crisis will worsen, intensifying the suffering of millions, particularly vulnerable groups such as women, children, persons with disabilities, and the elderly.
Protection
Without immediate action, the protection environment will further deteriorate, increasing protection risks, including grave human rights violations.
Child protection
Without response, children’s protective environment will be threatened, and vulnerabilities will increase, including grave violation of children's rights, leading to death, long-term trauma for children and their communities, and forcing children and caregivers to adopt negative coping mechanisms such as child labour and sexual exploitation.
Health and Nutrition
Limited funding, ongoing violence and the impacts of climate change will further restrict access to healthcare, resulting in increased mortality rates in crisis-affected areas. Without access to water, the spread of preventable diseases such as cholera and measles, along with waterborne illnesses will increase, leading to an increase in malnutrition. Increased malnutrition may lead to more deaths and long-term developmental issues for children. In 2025, 230,000 children under five are suffering from severe and moderate malnutrition.
Food security
People most vulnerable to food insecurity may have to resort to negative coping mechanisms to meet their food needs. With insufficient funds, rations will be reduced, and some beneficiaries will receive no aid at all.
Refugee
The presence of nearly half a million refugees is straining already limited natural resources, igniting intercommunity tensions. Without urgent assistance, almost 550,000 refugees will remain without support.
Gender-based violence
By 2025, more than 1 million individuals will need GBV support. Without immediate assistance, survivors will struggle to access critical medical and psychological care, perpetuating trauma and vulnerability.
Shelter
Without immediate action,1.8 million people will be denied adequate shelter. Insufficient shelter will limit access to food storage and safe cooking spaces, increasing food insecurity. Poor shelter conditions and lack of NFI would increase population vulnerability to illnesses and would compromise the safety and security of people.
Security
In 2024, at least 23 incidents involving humanitarian workers were reported, including the abduction of at least 41 staff, along with regular lockdowns, roadblocks and movements restrictions. Persistent security threats and physical access constraints severely hamper delivery of humanitarian assistance to the most vulnerable. Without adequate funding and resources for access, humanitarian partners will lack the capacity to provide timely, quality, and principled response.
Education
Ongoing violence against educational institutions and a lack of funding for alternative learning options could leave generations without formal education. More than 1.3 million children will need urgent support to access education.
References
- MSNA 2024 data.
- UNHCR data, October 2024.
- Nutrition sector, 2024 HNO data.
- GBV/IMS, October 2024.
- Shelter/NFI sector data.
- WASH sector data, as per September 2024.
- MSNA 2024 data, WASH sector.
- MSNA data 2024, North-West and South-West regions.
- NWSW access working group, January to June 2024 data.
- GBV/IMS data.
- NWSW Access working group, January to June 2024 data.