Southern Cameroons Crisis: UN condemns appalling destruction of Mamfe Hospital ⁰

The Humanitarian Coordinator ad interim in Cameroon strongly condemns the destruction of the district hospital of Mamfe in the South-West region.

On 8 June 2022, suspected elements of a non-State armed group (NSAG) reportedly carried out an attack in the locality of Egbekaw and in the course of the event, the hospital was also set on fire and destroyed. All patients had to be transferred to other medical centers. The Mamfe district hospital is covering more than 85,000 people living in the area. The hospital serves as main medical reference covering medical needs of remote areas in Manyu division. Its destruction will deprive people of urgently needed care and further weaken the local health system.

There has been at least five attacks against healthcare since January 2022. The crisis in the NorthWest and South-West regions of Cameroon has seen a large number of attacks on healthcare, with health workers or patients threatened, abducted, injured or killed, as well as medical infrastructures damaged or destroyed.

Attacks on healthcare workers, patients and facilities are serious violations of international human rights law, they must be investigated and perpetrators must be held to account,” said the Humanitarian Coordinator a.i. “Health care workers are every day saving the lives of thousands of people and must be allowed to work without fear or concern for their safety or that of their patients.” he added.

The Humanitarian Coordinator a.i. in Cameroon calls on all parties to protect healthcare and refrain from hindering access to medical services. The humanitarian community remains mobilized to support affected populations in the region.

Karen Perrin, Head of Office, OCHA Cameroon, perrink@un.org

UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs