What is the humanitarian challenge?

In 2019 NRC ranked the crisis in Cameroon the most neglected crisis in the world, due to the lack of funding, media attention and political neglect. Internally displaced people (IDPs) and host communities in the Far North region of Cameroon need access to food, shelter, water and other basic services. There is also an estimate of 10.7 million citizens working with good revenue in Cameroon. A survey conducted in 2018 by NRC showed that 72,13 % of these Cameroonians would be willing to donate to displaced fellow citizens through cash transfers, if an efficient, sustainable, and transparent system was in place.

What is innovative about the project?

This project aims at setting up a cash transfer system between donor citizens in Cameroon and IDPs in the Far North region. The project will enable donors to donate at their own discretion and give beneficiaries simple mobile phones to spend the funds on their most pressing needs through mobile money. The project is innovative because is exploring how to bring funding from new sources into humanitarian response.

This solution will have potential for scaling in other countries where parts of the population have a stable income and are willing to donate to fellow citizens in need.

What are the expected outcomes?

The expected outcome of this first pilot phase is firstly to address the basic needs of the 3,200 most vulnerable IDPs and host community members, which is approximately 400 households living in the Far North Region and promote their rights and dignity through multiple purpose cash transfer. Secondly, an expected outcome is to engage people to respond to the crisis by donating. Thirdly, this project aims to sensitize people in and outside of Cameroon about the crisis going on in the Far North.