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Viewing cable 08DAKAR566, CAMEROON REGIONAL FOOD FOR PEACE OFFICER

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
08DAKAR566 2008-05-15 16:13 2011-08-25 00:00 UNCLASSIFIED Embassy Dakar
VZCZCXRO5406
PP RUEHMA RUEHPA
DE RUEHDK #0566/01 1361613
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 151613Z MAY 08
FM AMEMBASSY DAKAR
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0491
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE
RUEHNJ/AMEMBASSY NDJAMENA
RUEHSA/AMEMBASSY PRETORIA 2244
RUEHNR/AMEMBASSY NAIROBI 1294
RUEHRN/USMISSION UN ROME
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 0833
RHMFIUU/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEHPH/CDC ATLANTA
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 DAKAR 000566 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR AF/W, AF/EPS, EEP/TPP/ABT/ATP 
STATE FOR PRM, IO, CRS 
STATE ALSO PASS TO USAID/W 
USAID/W FOR AFR/AA, DCHA/AA, DCHA/FFP, DCHA/CMM, 
DCHA/OTI, DCHA/DG, AFR/WA 
USAID/DCHA FOR JDWORKEN, CLAURENT, CHUGHES, 
DSKORIC, PMORRIS, CABLA, SROGERS, TMCRAE 
AFR/WA FOR NFREEMAN 
ACCRA FOR HPATRICK, FAWANTANG, MKNIGHT 
NAIROBI FOR OFDA/ECARO RDRAPCHO 
PRETORIA FOR PDISKIN 
ABIDJAN FOR PRM 
BRUSSELS FOR USAID 
GENEVA FOR RMA 
ROME FOR FODAG 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAID PREL WFP SOCI NG EAGR MR ECON
ETRD, EFIN, PGOV, SG 
SUBJECT: CAMEROON REGIONAL FOOD FOR PEACE OFFICER 
TRIP REPORT 
 
DAKAR 00000566  001.2 OF 004 
 
 
1. Summary:   Dakar-based Regional Food for 
Peace Officer (RFFPO) traveled to Cameroon from 
March 31 to April 11, 2008 to assess progress of 
the humanitarian programs and the living 
conditions of Central African Republic (CAR) and 
Chadian refugees in the country.  Visits to 
various refugee sites and discussions with 
partners revealed that refugees in Cameroon, 
particularly CAR refugees in the East and Northern 
Provinces, are getting inadequate humanitarian 
assistance.  Because of significant funding 
problems, very few humanitarian organizations are 
present in the field.  The UN World Food Program 
faces frequent pipeline breaks and mainly operates 
on commodities borrowed from its programs in 
neighboring countries.  Most CAR refugees reside 
in remote sites scattered over 50,000 square 
kilometers and many of them are receiving 
insufficient services such as health care, 
education, and water/sanitation.  As a result, 
malnutrition is high among CAR refugees and many 
are suffering from preventable diseases such as 
konzo--a crippling disease caused by prolonged 
consumption of unprocessed red cassava.  To 
improve the living conditions of the refugees and 
avert a further deterioration of their situation, 
donors including relevant USG agencies are 
encouraged to increase contributions to 
humanitarian operations in Cameroon.  End summary. 
 
BACKGROUND 
 
2. A Senegal-based Regional Food for Peace Officer 
(RFFPO) traveled to Cameroon from March 31 to 
April 11, 2008 to assess progress of humanitarian 
programs and the living conditions of refugees 
from the Central African Republic (CAR) and Chad. 
During his mission, the RFFPO met with partners 
and colleagues associated with humanitarian 
operations in Cameroon as well as those working in 
Chad and CAR.  He met with counterparts from the 
US Embassy in Yaounde and representatives of 
United Nations agencies such as the World Food 
Program (WFP), the UN High Commissioner for 
Refugees (UNHCR), and the Food and Agriculture 
Organization (FAO) as well as Non-governmental 
Organization staff, regional authorities 
representing the Government of Cameroon, and 
community groups representing the Chadian and CAR 
refugees.  In addition, the RFFPO visited 
CAR/Chadian refugee sites, feeding/health centers, 
and WFP warehouses in the Eastern, Adamaoua and 
Extreme North (areas bordering CAR and Chad) 
provinces and witnessed provision of food and 
medical assistance to refugees and local 
populations. 
 
3. According to UNHCR and WFP records, a total of 
57,200 refugees are currently officially 
registered in Cameroon.  However, new refugees 
continue to arrive on a daily basis, particularly 
from CAR.  The majority of the registered refugees 
(48,000) are from the CAR and the rest (9,200) are 
from Chad.  The Chadian refugees-most of whom were 
displaced by the February 2008 rebel attacks in 
 
DAKAR 00000566  002.2 OF 004 
 
 
Ndjamena (Chadian capital)--are currently residing 
in a transit camp (Maltam) 32 km from the border. 
The camp in Maltam is fully equipped with 
humanitarian personnel and services such as food, 
water, and health care.  In May 2008, these 
refugees will be moved to a more permanent site 
near the city of Garoua-- a camp over 500 km from 
Cameroon/Chad border which was built for Rwandan 
refugees in the mid 1990s. 
 
4.  The CAR refugees, on the other hand, are 
living along the Cameroon/CAR border, in 73 sites 
scattered over a 50,000 square km area in various 
districts of Adamaoua, East, North and Central 
Provinces.  The majority of these CAR refugees are 
livestock herders of Peulh ethnicity (also known 
as Mbororo).  Victimized by bandits, rebels, and 
government forces and having lost most of their 
livestock, these refugees have been continually 
fleeing to Cameroon since 2005.  Overall, CAR 
refugees are not concentrated in distinct and 
officially recognized refugee camps, which have 
made it difficult to assist them.  Because of 
inadequate funding, only a few of the humanitarian 
organizations (WFP, UNHCR and Doctors without 
Borders) are currently assisting the CAR refugees. 
As a result, many CAR refugees are suffering from 
chronic malnutrition and easily preventable 
diseases.  For example, the RFFPO observed many 
refugees who were suffering from a debilitating 
disease known as Konzo, caused by eating 
unprocessed red cassava which contains cyanide. 
The disease, once it sets in, is irreversible and 
those infected--mainly children above 3 years of 
age and young women of childbearing ages--remain 
crippled for life.  During a visit to a health 
center operated by Doctors without Borders near 
the CAR/Cameroon border, RFFPO observed 70 Konzo 
patients (all of them CAR refugees) being 
rehabilitated.  The disease has been observed only 
in CAR refugees, particularly those in Eastern 
Province of Cameroon, and so far over 200 konzo 
cases have been identified in refugee sites. 
(Note: However, since Doctors without Borders 
staff were not able to reach many of the refugee 
sites that were scattered over 50,000 square 
kilometers, the number of Konzo patients among the 
CAR population in Eastern Cameroon might be much 
higher.  End Note.) 
 
5. A May 2007 nutritional survey of CAR refugees 
in Cameroon conducted by UNICEF showed a 17.2% 
global acute malnutrition rate--a rate well above 
the "critical 15%" level as defined by the World 
Health Organization--and 3.5% for severe wasting. 
A September 2007 follow up study conducted by 
Doctors without Borders also found 15.1% and 4.3% 
of the CAR refugees suffered from global acute 
malnutrition and wasting respectively.  The latest 
Joint Needs Assessment survey conducted in 
November 2007 by UNICEF, WFP, UNHCR, FAO, and 
Doctors without Borders also confirmed that the 
food security and nutritional status of the CAR 
refugees remained quite alarming.  Since most of 
the CAR refugees are pastoralist, very few of them 
 
DAKAR 00000566  003.2 OF 004 
 
 
can use gardening to diversify or improve their 
diet.  According to information provided by the 
UNICEF, many CAR refugees used to make significant 
household incomes from cutting and selling 
firewood.  But they lost this source of revenue 
after the Department of Forestry stopped the 
activity for environmental protection reasons. 
 
6. Since the arrival of the Chadians in February 
2008, the refugee caseload (CAR and Chadian 
refugees) in Cameroon is covered under WFP's 
Emergency Operational Plan (EMOP) #10735.0.  Food 
needs of this refugee caseload are estimated at 
about 1,800 MT/month.  However, according to WFP, 
only a fraction of the requirements are received. 
Although many of the CAR refugees have been in 
Eastern Cameroon since 2005, food distribution by 
WFP started only in August 2007.  Since then, due 
to frequent pipeline breaks, refugees continue to 
receive food either on a less frequent basis or 
below the recommended (2,100 kcal) ration levels. 
At the time of the RFFPO's visit to Eastern 
Cameroon, about 14,000 CAR refugees were scheduled 
to receive their monthly (March) rations which 
were estimated at 215 MT.  Most of the food being 
distributed was borrowed from WFP's programs 
within the country, neighboring countries (Chad 
and CAR) or purchased with loans from the Urn's 
Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF).  Although 
April food distribution was less than two weeks 
away, WFP had only 19 MT on hand out of the 1,600 
MT required for the month. 
 
7. Because of its capacity to produce enough 
surpluses, WFP was able in the past to purchase 
important commodities such as sorghum, maize and 
beans from Cameroon.  Traditionally, WFP purchased 
its food needs after harvest (e.g. January - 
February) when the prices were lower.  However, 
with the prices of commodities having doubled as 
compared to last year and with no signs of 
commodity prices coming down, WFP has had to 
suspend its planned food purchases.  The soaring 
food prices have significantly increased the 
levels of food insecurity among many Cameroonian 
households, particularly households in urban areas 
and across most of the population in the more arid 
Northern Provinces.  For example, while assessing 
performance of WFP-funded community-operated 
cereal banks in villages located in northern 
Cameroon, the mission was informed that, though 
normally paid during harvest, 90% of the loans 
made to members in 2007 had not been reimbursed. 
 
--------------- 
RECOMMENDATIONS 
--------------- 
 
8. Based on the RFFPO's own observations and 
information provided by UN and NGO staff, 
humanitarian assistance to CAR and Chadian 
refugees in Cameroon is extremely under-resources 
and in need of support.  CAR refugees are 
particularly in need of assistance.  To improve 
the living conditions of these destitute refugees 
 
DAKAR 00000566  004.2 OF 004 
 
 
the RFFPO recommends that: 
 
* WFP headquarter staff are encouraged to 
request donor funding of the new Cameroon 
Emergency Operational Plan (EMOP) #10735.0 
 
* UNHCR coordinate with its partners to regroup 
the CAR refugees into 2-3 camps so they can 
be better served; 
 
* Donors, including USG agencies such as OFDA 
and PRM contribute to the refugee program in 
* Cameroon; and 
 
* The Government of Cameroon assists and 
encourages the NGOs willing to establish 
offices in remote areas where CAR refugees 
are located. 
SMITH