More than 2.9 million people, including about 1.5 million children, still needed access to safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene services in Cameroon’s Northwest and Southwest regions during the first half of 2026, highlighting the continuing humanitarian impact of the country’s anglophone crisis.

The figures come from UNICEF’s humanitarian situation report for Cameroon, published on July 23. According to the UN agency, communities in the two English-speaking regions continue to face heightened risks related to health, protection and access to basic social services.

Water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) remain among the most pressing challenges. UNICEF attributes the situation to a combination of prolonged insecurity, repeated population displacement, damaged water infrastructure, disease outbreaks and inadequate public facilities. More than 2.9 million people in the Northwest and Southwest, including approximately 1.5 million children, continued to require safe water, sanitation and hygiene services, the agency said.

Women and Girls Bear the Heaviest Burden

Limited access to water has consequences that extend well beyond household supply. According to UNICEF, women and girls are disproportionately affected because they are often responsible for collecting water. Long journeys to water points consume time that could otherwise be spent in school, at work or on income-generating activities.

Those trips also expose women and adolescent girls to greater risks of violence, assault and harassment when they travel through isolated or insecure areas.

Limited sanitation facilities further complicate menstrual hygiene management, contributing to school absenteeism among adolescent girls and reinforcing existing barriers to education.

Schools Continue to Face Major Infrastructure Gaps

Schools across the two regions also lack adequate sanitation infrastructure. UNICEF reported that one in four schools had no sanitation facilities, more than one-third lacked separate latrines for boys and girls, and many facilities remained inaccessible to children with disabilities.

The absence of functioning toilets and water points increases health risks for students and teachers while making schools less welcoming, particularly for girls.

The lack of gender-separated sanitation facilities disproportionately affects adolescent girls, while inaccessible infrastructure excludes many children with disabilities. These shortcomings illustrate how the water and sanitation crisis extends beyond households, undermining education in regions already affected by years of conflict.

Rehabilitation Projects Deliver Local Gains

Despite the challenges, UNICEF and its partners continued implementing water and sanitation projects during the first half of 2026.

In the Southwest region, rehabilitation of the Mile 4 gravity-fed water system in Limbe significantly improved access to safe drinking water for nearby communities. According to UNICEF, the time required to collect water fell from about four hours to roughly 30 minutes.

The reduction gives affected families more than three additional hours each day that can be devoted to education, income-generating activities, household responsibilities or rest. The project demonstrates how restoring water infrastructure can quickly improve living conditions.

Needs Still Far Outpace Assistance

While projects such as the one in Limbe show the benefits of targeted investments, they remain small compared with the scale of unmet needs. UNICEF said restoring water networks, installing secure water points and building sanitation facilities in schools will require sustained funding as well as reliable humanitarian access to conflict-affected communities.

In the most insecure areas, humanitarian teams continue to face difficulties reaching communities and maintaining existing infrastructure. Repeated population displacement also places additional pressure on newly built or rehabilitated facilities.

The Limbe project illustrates the immediate health, education, protection and economic benefits that improved water and sanitation services can provide. At the same time, it underscores the wide gap between progress in individual communities and the needs of millions of people across Cameroon’s Northwest and Southwest regions.

Source: Sbbc