By Etienne Mainimo Mengnjo
A project aimed at reducing the impact of floods and strengthening communities’ resilience in the Far North Region has been launched. The project, dubbed “Anticipatory Action on Floods in Cameroon,” was launched on April 2 in Yaounde by the Cameroon Red Cross (CRC). The project was launched in the presence of the government and partners.
Speaking during the launching ceremony, the National President of CRC, Cecile Akame Mfoumou, underscored the importance of the project, pointing out that it is a new humanitarian approach to managing disasters.
According to her, Cameroon has experienced significant impacts from phenomena linked to climate change, such as flooding that has caused damage to property, destruction of plantations, and the displacement of populations in the Far North Region.
Flooding has also led to the loss of human life, jeopardizing the livelihoods of those affected by the floods and the water-borne diseases that are generally the consequence. All these impacts, according to experts, contribute to increasing the vulnerability of populations already suffering from a range of socio-political problems and a low standard of living.
“We have the protocol of early action against cholera, the protocol of early action against malaria, and for the activity that brought us together today, it is the launch of the development of the protocol of early action against floods. This is so that the victim populations can be protected from the flood and early flooding. This is also so that the victims of the floods can regain their dignity,” Akame Mfoumou said.
Adesh Tripathee, the head of Delegation, Country Cluster Delegation for Cameroon, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Sao Tome and Principe, mentioned that due to climate change, the flooding pattern is changing and is frequently happening in Cameroon.
“We need to help the community to be better prepared. And for this, using meteorological data, scientific data and evidence, and local knowledge and wisdom, so the local community will be prepared. They will be better trained for,” Adesh Tripathee said.
He added that dealing with climate change is the main reason why many agencies and partners need to come together. Working together will help to make Cameroon safer, protecting residents from flood disasters, which is very important.
On her part, Angele Ndzie Ntsama from the Civil Protection Unit in the Ministry of Territorial Administration (MINAT) said that Civil Protection has four main phases. These include prevention, preparation, response, and recovery.
“We are here in the preparation phase because when we are not prepared, in case of a crisis, we will have difficulties to react. So, it is important for each state, each country, to arm themselves against crises. And I can say that this is the most important thing, to anticipate before the crisis. This is the importance of this activity,” she said.
Besides placing CRC as a major player in anticipatory action on flooding in the Far North of Cameroon, the project also aims to improve the CRC’s operational capacity by using weather forecasts for the Far North region to analyze risks and have more reliable triggers for early action before disasters strike.
Among activities to engage in during the project, which include feasibility and/or scope study of community-based surveillance (CBS), an awareness-raising workshop on shock-responsive social protection will be organized in the three communities in the Far North of Cameroon.
Additionally, there will be skills-building and involvement of volunteers in disaster management in the Far North region, as well as organization of sessions to develop and validate rapid action triggers and listing, prioritization, and validation of early actions, among other activities. The project is being funded by the Italian Government to the tune of FCFA 163,749,862.
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