The Cameroon Water Utilities Corporation (Camwater) wants to build more standpipes in the cities of Douala and Yaoundé, two large metropolises which host many internally displaced people from the conflict in the North-West and South-West in particular.
The information was given on February 14 in Douala, during an interview between the director general of Camwater and the coordinator of the water and habitat program of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). “The director general of Camwater expressed the hope that the project to build standpipes would be extended to localities indirectly affected by the conflicts, in particular the cities of Yaoundé and Douala where certain neighborhoods host many internally displaced persons who are in need of assistance, be supplied with drinking water,” reports this public company in a press release.
This objective is part of the agreement that has linked the two organizations since 2020. “The partnership with the ICRC is essential for Camwater. Together, we can improve access to drinking water for the most vulnerable populations, and thus contribute to peace and stability in our country,” declared DG Blaise Moussa, according to comments reported by Camwater .
This company responsible for the production and marketing of drinking water in Cameroon indicates that the partnership between it and the ICRC has already made it possible to carry out several drinking water supply projects. This includes the supply and replacement of electromechanical equipment for filters at the Mokolo treatment station, in the Mayo Tsanaga department, Far North region. The town of Mokolo hosts many internally displaced people who fled attacks by Boko Haram fighters in villages near the border with Nigeria. It also involves the purchase of maintenance tools and the repair of an old generator at the Makary station, a small town in the Far North region where thousands of refugees are present. In the South-West region, the partnership enabled the completion of the Muyuka-Yoke project where it was a question of carrying out emergency repair and rehabilitation work on 19 standpipes.
For 2024, Camwater and the ICRC want to commission the 8BF borehole in the town of Mokolo, the rehabilitation and extension of the Kolofata water network, the extension of the network and individual connection of Makary, the rehabilitation of the chlorination system in Muyuka. Note that according to UNHCR data, the population of forcibly displaced people in Cameroon amounted to more than 2 million individuals in December 2023, including more than a million internally displaced people.
