CI-NEWS

NW celebrates World Humanitarian Day 2019 amidst challenges.

2019-08-20

No: 442

NW celebrates World Humanitarian Day 2019 amidst challenges.

By Etoh Anzah George in Bamenda .

Owing to the advent of the divergent challenges plaguing humanity with calls for speedy and apt responses at vital fronts, the United Nations set up humanitarian structures in a bid to address these plights at their inception phase.

Owing to the outbreak of the Anglophone crisis with the existence of mega consequences, it was therefore incumbent for Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs) to embark on reinstating this time-honoured approach. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) is the umbrella organisation coordinating operations for efficiency. According to Tanda Theophilus, coordination forums were set up with monthly meetings to ensure an amateur and mature intervention in the activities of the actors. In addition to this, they ensure reachability to the vulnerable through advocacy, communication and also ease access strategies.

“ We further chair humanitarian working groups whose challenges in finding solution to problems have been met with diverse difficulties in a bid to help them have better access”, he said.

Amongst its pregnant roles he cited their advocacy in accountability to affected populations, inclusion of persons with disabilities in the humanitarian response, identifying areas of humanitarian needs and advising actors to intervene and carry out joint assessment missions through a monthly publication of a situational report. In line with these therefore over 9 non governmental organisations all took turns to respond to worries and throw light to a hungry crowd whose worries needed to be settled.

To Ambo Gaby, director of Finders Group Initiative whose role in child protection in Momo and Mezam division remains daunting the organisation is aimed at ensuring the strict respect of children’s rights in a bid to ensure a fair society. Thus dwelling on the humanitarian services in the North West region since May 2019 and caught in the web of conflict in the popular parlance of the people of concern, he took out time to x ray what broad treatment could be given to people from affected areas in conflict times.

On the question of what is to be celebrated by women humanitarians, he hinted "our cultures and traditions have pushed the women to the backyard and they need to be raised to levels with others". This theme was thereforeput in place to address their plight all over the world. The 9 organisations concerned were LGI, COMINSUD, OCHA, PLAN INTERNATIONAL, LUKMEF, DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS, MEDECINS DU MONDE, UN WOMEN, CARITAS.

Their role in the region in humanitarian gestures before now was not clear and so it was incumbent on these associations to present a proper review of their respective roles.

Talking to The Horizon Newspaper, Mary Nyuyin, coordinator of UN Women activities in the NW region, hinted the day was set aside for humanitarians and more especially women as indicated by the theme "Celebrating women humanitarians ". She said it was necessary to make known to the population what the activities of the UN agencies in the region are."This is an eye opener to the people of the North West region to feel our presence, because they have been seeing UN vehicles in the region plying the roads, and it’s essential they are aware our services owing to the crisis situational phase. We therefore need to come in to bring support offered by people of other nations to people in crisis situations as ours. Thus they are not left to themselves and in this case to women who remain vulnerable, less priviledged and marginalised especially in our society".

She said women are exposed to diverse forms of gender-based violence and often caught in the web of dependency “and our wish is to relieve them of this dependency by bringing economic independency.”

It should be noted women humanitarians face diverse challenges amongst which are the difficulty of reaching people affected by the crisis due to insecurity. “Despite our representation of the UN agencies here, we are vulnerable too. Secondly, victims of the crisis aren’t coming to voice out their problems. There are many cases of abuses but owing to a concise upbringing of no declaration of worries, victims have resolved to keep low profiles and suffer in secrecy especially on the issue of GBV”, she regretted.

Mrs Musi Christina recounted the ordeal of how she fled her native Esu village of the Menchum division owing to the crisis and upon settling in Bamenda was informed her home and all belongings had been razed. The unmarried mother of a 15-year-old daughter and physically challenged therefore makes her living by frying puff balls which are marketed by her daughter who attests sales have been relatively poor. Such poor experiences have continued to be recounted around the North West region and owing to the crisis the humanitarian situation needs to be further told for many to be conscious and probably benefit from aid where need be.

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NW celebrates World Humanitarian Day 2019 amidst challenges.