Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Sugg on 21 September (HL7925) whether UK aid is being delivered to vulnerable civilians in Cameroon, either through Cameroon government entities or through local NGOs; and if so, which (1) NGOs, and (2) local partners, the British High Commission in Yaounde are supporting to promote (a) conflict resolution, and (b) the resumption of children’s education in (i) the north-west, and (ii) the south-west regions of Cameroon.

The UK Government is deeply concerned about the 6.2 million people in need of humanitarian assistance in Cameroon. That is why last month we announced £4.5 million further funding to bring our total humanitarian support to £13.5 million this year. The new funding is delivered through multilateral organisations?including UNICEF, the International Committee of the Red Cross and the World Food Programme. It will provide vital food packs, sanitation provisions, medical supplies and fund training for health workers. None of our humanitarian funding is through the Government of Cameroon.

Through the British High Commission in Yaoundé we also work alongside local partners in Cameroon to promote conflict resolution, youth peacebuilders, human rights monitoring and the resumption of children's education in the North-West and South-West regions. We are not currently financially supporting any local partners working on these issues as our funding has been prioritised for vital COVID-19 and humanitarian support, but we will revisit this when funding is available. ?Past local partners include – among others – the Southwest Northwest Women’s Taskforce, Local Youth Corner, and the Justice and Peace Commission of the Bamenda Archdiocese. Inclusive dialogue remains vital to ensure a just, peaceful and durable resolution to the crisis. We have shared experiences of conflict resolution with the Government of Cameroon and remain ready to support all credible peacebuilding initiatives.