Humanitarian response: UNFPA aids over 1,300 women to deliver safely within one month.

This figure is contained in a UNFPA Cameroon Humanitarian Situation Report for the month of June published recently.

According to the report, the ongoing armed conflicts in the Far North, North West and South West regions have led to further displacement of people and reduced humanitarian access in the month of June 2024. 

Also, the humanitarian situation in the East Region and some major urban areas plagued by violence and destruction remained unchanged. 

Amidst this stalemate, the UNFPA provided significant humanitarian response with 35 midwives providing sexual and reproductive health services to 9,161 people. 

Out of this figure, some 1,377 women were assisted in safe childbirth. The report also stipulated that 184 women received clean delivery kits, with 47 others handed baby boxes. 

Additionally, 1,802 people were reached through awareness-raising sessions on sexual and reproductive health services while 11,402 people were sensitized on gender-based violence, GBV prevention and response services.

The report further indicated that UNFPA health facilities supported 1,377 deliveries, including 296 caesarean sections, and recorded 225 obstetric complications. 

The report equally showed that 1,010 women attended antenatal consultations and 193 people benefited from Sexually Transmitted Infections, STIs.

While 47 women participated in income-generating activities, 25 women received cash from UNFPA for SRH and GBV services with 500 dignity kits distributed.

The GBV Area of Responsibility also successfully organised its monthly meeting for the Far North, in a bid to ensure coordinated locations and timelines for upcoming GBV safety audits and to address knowledge gap on post-rape kits. 

As part of the GBV AoR the local organisation, Local Action for Participatory and Self-Managed Development, ALDEPA, with the support of UNFPA, has been advocating for increased resource mobilisation and more frequent meetings to enable better information sharing in Mayo Tsanaga Division. 

The report equally highlighted efforts underway to address the mismatch between medical supplies in inter-agency reproductive health kits and medications used in HIV/AIDS programmes in Cameroon, and to align post-rape kits with the National Protocol for the Treatment of Sexual Violence Survivors.

While expressing gratitude for the continued support of its donors, UNFPA Cameroon said it had secured 24% of its 11 million US dollar appeal through generous contributions funders as of the end of June 2024.

This story was first published in The Guardian Post issue No:3185 of Wednesday July 31, 2024