Alexandre Laridan, Director of Operations for the Tulipe association, was able to meet with humanitarian actors and UN representatives on site, and to draw up a picture of the humanitarian situation of the populations in Cameroon. He was able to gain a precise understanding of the health needs in the country thanks to his exchanges with partner NGOs.
For several years now, Cameroon has been experiencing a social, political and security crisis that has particularly affected the country’s North-West and South-West regions. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has painted a dramatic picture of the situation in the country in 2022, with 3.9 million people in need of humanitarian assistance and protection. The main sources of the problem include“violence linked to the presence of and clashes with armed groups, inter-community conflicts, natural disasters and epidemics“. According to OCHA, “more than 2.4 million people are in an emergency situation and more than 933,000 people are internally displaced. Diseases such as cholera, COVID-19 and malaria, and other public health risks, as well as the lack of access to basic social services are affecting millions of people. These shocks have also disrupted social services and weakened social cohesion”.
A response via NGOs on the ground
In order to be as close as possible to the health needs of the forgotten populations in Cameroon, the Tulipe association, which in 2021 had already donated health products to the NGO ASCOVIME in coordination with Gynécologie Sans Frontière. Alexandre Laridan, Tulipe’s Director of Operations, met with representatives of the NGO on 24 November. ASCOVIME (Association des compétences pour une vie meilleure) is a Cameroonian NGO with a strong presence in rural areas in crisis. It provides free healthcare, childbirth kits and medical services to help vulnerable villagers and internally displaced people back into society. This humanitarian aid is provided during climatic disasters or political crises in certain regions of the country.
In 2021, the NGO ASCOVIME received two tonnes of health products thanks to the mobilisation of Tulipe and its member health companies. Below: Alexandre Laridan and representatives of the NGO on 24 November 2022 (DR -ASCOVIME).
Helping people in the far north of Cameroon gain access to healthcare
ALIMA (The Alliance for International Medical Action) has received a donation of 2 tonnes of health products in 2021 and 5 tonnes in 2022. The latter donation will arrive on site in the next few days. The Tulipe association has been working alongside ALIMA for two years. The NGO, which provides access to healthcare, is the only organisation present in the far north of Cameroon. In this very dangerous and neglected region, 1.2 million people are in need, including nearly 400,000 internally displaced persons fleeing conflict.
Meeting between Alexandre Laridan and representatives of the International Organisation for Migration
On 21 November, Alexandre Laridan met in Yaoundé with Abdel R. Diop, head of mission for the International Organisation for Migration (UNO). Diop, head of mission for the International Organisation for Migration (UN), on the current health situation and the lack of access to medicines for internal and external refugees in Cameroon (particularly in the north and south-west of the country). The issue of managing these refugees is one of the country’s main humanitarian problems.
