OFFICIAL LAUNCHING OF THE PROJECT «WOMEN AND GIRLS WHO HAVE EXPERIENCED/ARE EXPERIENCING GBV OR ARE AT RISK OF GBV BENEFIT FROM PROVISION OF AND ACCESS TO QUALITY SERVICES AND ARE EMPOWERED TO INCREASINGLY ENGAGE IN DECISION MAKING AND LEADERSHIP IN GBV R

Yaoundé, 19th of May 2021.  As part of the joint UN Women and UNFPA project funded by the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) entitled «Women and girls who have experienced/are experiencing GBV or are at risk of GBV benefit from provision of and access to quality services and are empowered to increasingly engage in decision making and leadership in GBV response, mitigation and prevention”, a working session was organized on 19th of May 2021 to officially launch the project and to present it to implementing partners namely the D=Regional Delegates of the Ministry of Women Empowerment, the Ministry of Justice, the Secretary of State for Defense in Charge of the Gendarmerie, the General Delegation to National Security, the Ministry of Justice, Association de lutte contre les Violences Faites aux Femmes (ALVF),  Women in Action against Gender Based Violence (WA Cameroon), United Youth Organization (UYO) as well as the implementing partners of UNFPA. 

The project launch took place in the UN Women conference room and presented the activities of the project that will be implemented for the next 24 months detailing the interactions between the different implementing partners at the operational level as well as the cooperation between UN Women and UNFPA at the strategic level. This project focusing on the prevention and response of GBV in areas affected by conflict will be implemented in the Far-North: Mayo-Sava (Mogode) and Mayo-Tsanaga (Kolofata), North-West: Momo (Batibo) and Boyo (Belo) and South-West: Fako (Idenau) and Kupe Muanenguba (Nguiti).

In her introductory remarks, the UN Women Representative indicated that “In 2021 there are 4.4 million people in need of humanitarian assistance in the country because of insecurity, diminished coping capacities and lack of access to basic services” and stressed that women and girls have been disproportionately affected by the protracted crises and instability in the targeted regions. She also emphasized the rise of violence against women during the Covid-19 pandemic in Cameroon (study conducted by UN Women and the Central Bureau of the Census and Population Studies (BUCREP) in 2020). She further stated that 1,648 GBV incidents were recorded in the Far North between January and September 2020 and that the North West and South West regions suffered from restricted humanitarian access “limiting GBV lifesaving services and assistance in several localities especially rural areas along the border with Nigeria”.

All the stakeholders provided inputs and suggestions on how to ensure an efficient and effective implementation of the project for the sake of the beneficiaries. Their recommendations will be factored in the project before the implementation phase.