Yaounde: CBM trains stakeholders on disability-inclusive WASH services.

The training is organised under the Leave No One Behind Phase 4, LNOB4, project and will run until August 20. It seeks to strengthen the capacity of WASH stakeholders to integrate disability inclusion into assessment, planning, implementation, monitoring and community engagement.

According to the organisers, Inclusive WASH, also known as iWASH, seeks to ensure that persons with disabilities, older persons and other vulnerable groups can safely and independently access water, sanitation and hygiene services during humanitarian emergencies and development programmes.

Participants are being trained on disability inclusion in humanitarian action, universal design and accessibility, reasonable accommodation, inclusive accountability to affected populations and menstrual health and hygiene management. 

Opening the training on behalf of the Country Director of CBM Cameroon, the Country Programme Manager, Tebon Mispa, said the training comes at a time when humanitarian challenges continue to put pressure on access to basic services. 

She cited conflict, displacement, disease outbreaks and climate-related shocks among challenges affecting communities. The Country Programme Manager said persons with disabilities often face additional barriers that limit their access to essential WASH services. 

According to Tebon, the training would also provide participants with an opportunity to exchange experiences and identify practical approaches for integrating disability inclusion throughout humanitarian programmes. 

She added that the workshop is expected to strengthen cooperation between government institutions, humanitarian organisations, development partners and organisations of persons with disabilities.

“At CBM, we firmly believe that disability-inclusive humanitarian action is better humanitarian action. We remain committed to supporting initiatives that promote accessibility, participation and equal opportunities for persons with disabilities in all aspects of humanitarian response and development programming,” Tebon said.

She also acknowledged the support of the Ministry of Water Resources and Energy, UNICEF Cameroon and the German Federal Foreign Office in the implementation of the initiative.

On his part, Chargé d’Affaires a.i. of the German Embassy in Yaounde, Knut Zuchan, representing the German Ambassador, said CBM is a long-standing partner in efforts to strengthen disability-inclusive WASH programming in Cameroon.

“Raising general awareness of the needs of people with disabilities and focus on inclusiveness in all aspects of public life is part of the priorities of the humanitarian assistance programmes of the German Federal Government. I am glad that with the opening of today’s workshop, we step into the next phase of this important activity here in Cameroon,” Zuchan said.

Gov’t pushes accessible WASH services

Opening the workshop on behalf of the Minister of Water Resources and Energy, the Secretary General of the ministry, Adolphe Ndjouke Thome, said universal and equitable access to drinking water and sanitation remains part of Cameroon’s development objectives. 

Ndjouke said persons with disabilities continue to face physical, socio-economic and institutional barriers when seeking access to sanitation and water services. He noted that the availability of a facility does not automatically make it accessible.

“A latrine may be available, but if access is not adapted to a person using a wheelchair, it does not fully meet their needs. A water point may be constructed in a community, but if it is difficult for a person with a motor or visual impairment to access it, the objective of universal access has not been achieved,” Ndjouke said.

According to the official, disability inclusion should begin at the design stage of WASH projects rather than being treated as an addition after infrastructure has already been developed.

Ndjouke hoped that the workshop would offer stakeholders an opportunity to identify barriers and examine ways of making WASH services more inclusive amid rapid urbanisation, population growth and climate vulnerability.

“I hope that our discussions will be constructive and focused on concrete, realistic solutions adapted to the realities of our country. We should leave here with recommendations capable of sustainably advancing disability inclusion in the WASH sector,” he said.

Ndjouke added that the government is also pursuing investments in water infrastructure, strengthening governance and promoting inclusive sanitation policies.

Participants highlight barriers

Romaric Tume, a Humanitarian Inclusion Officer with the Coordinating Unit of Associations of Persons with Disabilities, explained that persons with disabilities continue to face physical, communication, institutional and attitudinal barriers. 

He said accessibility should go beyond simply constructing ramps. According to him, policies, infrastructure and communication methods must take different forms of disability into consideration.

“If attitudes do not change, even our policies and our structures would do nothing, and persons with disabilities will still be facing challenges. Persons with disabilities need to be intentionally and meaningfully included within all facets of organisations and institutions,” Tume said.

On her part, the Project Support Officer at Plateforme Inclusive Society for Persons with Disabilities, Shezewoh Quinta, emphasised that involving persons with disabilities in decision-making would help ensure that WASH interventions respond to the challenges they actually face. 

She added that their participation can help institutions develop practical solutions based on the experiences of those directly affected.

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3884 of Thursday August 20, 2026