UNHCR and BUCREP partner for the inclusion of forcibly displaced people in Cameroon's 4th general census

Yaoundé, Cameroon - A Memorandum of Understand that will guarantee the inclusion of refugees in the fourth general population and housing census in Cameroon has been signed between UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency and BUCREP, the Central Bureau of Census and Population Studies in Cameroon.

The UNHCR Representative in Cameroon, Oliver Beer, and the Director of BUCREP, Bernadette Mbarga, formalized the partnership between UNHCR and BUCREP on 10 March 2023, at the UNHCR Branch Office in Yaounde.

"The inclusion of forcibly displaced persons in Cameroon through the census is an important step for their protection and socio-economic inclusion," said UNHCR's Representative in Cameroon, Olivier Guillaume Beer. “Quality socio-economic data is needed to engage governments and development actors to plan and sustainably fund programs that promote resilience such as employment, education, and social protection. It is increasingly recognized that the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals depends on the degree of integration and socio-economic inclusion of displaced people in the years to come.”

The partnership will facilitate cooperation and strengthen their collaboration, to make sure that the 2 million refugees, internally displaced persons, and returnees living in Cameroon are properly identified during the census planned for late 2023. According to UNOCHA, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, there are more than one million displaced people in the Far North, North-West and South-West regions.

There are nearly 500,000 refugees living in Cameroon. More than 346,000 are of Central African origin living in developed sites or villages within host communities in the Eastern, Adamawa and Northern regions. 124,000 are of Nigerian origin living in the Far North. There are also about 24,000 refugees and asylum-seekers of more than 40 different nationalities living in urban centres such as Yaoundé and Douala.

"During this large-scale statistical exercise, refugees and IDPs, regardless of their reason for displacement, will also be taken into consideration," said BUCREP Director Bernadette Mbarga. "Specifically with regards to the availability of statistics on refugees and internally displaced persons, it will ease taking them into account in the design and implementation of national policies and programmes and development planning, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals and in the spirit of leaving no one behind."

Data collected during the census will provide crucial information to determine the needs of all the different groups of people currently living in Cameroon including forcibly displaced people, in terms of services and infrastructure in various sectors such as health and education.

"Reliable and accurate information on indicators to achieve the objectives of the Global Compact on Refugees will be an essential element to ensure proper monitoring. The scarcity of humanitarian funds, dwindling resources, the COVID-19 pandemic and the ensuing economic shock further underscore the value of socio-economic data in informing an inclusive and evidence-based response,” said Beer.

In the coming months, UNHCR and BUCREP will begin joint projects in preparation for the census. UNHCR will conduct trainings on how to conduct a census of refugees in and out of settlements according to the Expert Group on Refugee, IDP and Statelessness Statistics (EGRISS) approach, support awareness campaigns to increase the participation of refugees and displaced persons, donate data collection material, as well as provide supervision during the data collection phase in November and December 2023. UNHCR will also facilitate access to refugee settlements for the census teams.