The Government of Japan and the United Nations Development Programme, UNDP signed on Friday, 10th of March 2023, a partnership agreement aimed at rehabilitating health centres and water points in the South-West region of Cameroon.
According to the newly signed agreement between the United Nations Development Programme, UNDP and the Japanese government, over 1 million people in the South-West region of Cameroon are expected to benefit from the second phase of the project for recovery through the rehabilitation of health centres and water points.
As outlined by the United Nations Development Programme, the overall objective of this project is to enhance the resilience of vulnerable populations in the South-West region of Cameroon and accelerate recovery through the rehabilitation of essential infrastructure to promote basic service delivery in the areas of Health, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH).
And the two main specific outputs are that: the populations of the South-West region have increased access to basic health care services, and the populations of the South-West region have increased access to safe drinking water.
After the signing ceremony, the acting Resident Representative of UNDP in Cameroon, Alassane Ba said: “This is the second phase of Japan’s contribution to the UNDP recovery programme. We will work closely with civil society organizations, mayors and the local population to build health care centres and water points based on the needs of the people…”
Thanks to the solid cooperation ties sealed between the government of Cameroon, the United Nations Development Programme and the Japanese government, the programme implemented years ago will once more yield good fruits for the population in dire need of these necessities as the South-West region is one of the two English speaking regions affected since 2016 by attacks from separatists’ groups.
The Ambassador of Japan to Cameroon, Mr TAKAOKA Nozomu at the end of the ceremony equally praised the initiative which is in its continuous process.
The Japanese diplomat stated that: “Japan has a firm policy to cooperate with Cameroon together with United Nations Agencies including UNDP. And our strategy is to help and alleviate the problems faced by local people, and affected persons by upgrading the quality of life. Phase two (2) like phase one is particularly focusing on the South-West region. My predecessor has already signed Phase one (1) of the project in 2021 and this was in recognition of the situation and great need for the people affected in the South-West, and we want to continue to assist them… And today we have signed this important document to continue this project.”
Worthy to note, the first phase of this project rehabilitated 9 health centres and 11 water points, improving access to basic services for over 300,000 people.
The second phase of the project will rehabilitate an additional 9 Integrated health centres and 17 solar-powered water points. Both interventions will have tangible impacts on the lives of the local population.
Elise Kenimbeni
