Kinshasa, DRC — Cameroon is experiencing a severe food and nutrition insecurity crisis, exacerbated by structural poverty, recurrent climate shocks, localized insecurity, displacement, and falling purchasing power. According to Cadre Harmonisé projections, over 1. 67 million individuals will require food assistance in 2026, with approximately 535,000 needing nutritional support.
The situation is particularly dire for children under five, with 29% suffering from chronic malnutrition, 11% from moderate acute malnutrition, and 3. 1% from severe acute malnutrition. Adequate feeding practices for infants and young children are lacking, with only 32.
4% receiving a minimum acceptable diet.
The Cameroon Red Cross (CRC) conducted a comprehensive multisectoral food insecurity assessment between January and February 2026, covering high-risk areas in the Far North, North, and East regions. The assessment revealed that 68% of households have no food stocks, with the most significant depletion in Logone-et-Chari (17% with stocks), Kadey (18%), and Mayo-Danay (21%). Market dependence is high across all assessed areas, reaching 81% in Logone-et-Chari and 73% in Bénoué and Kadey. Despite functional markets, the crisis is primarily driven by decreased purchasing power, increasing household debt, and repeated shocks.
In 2025, national projections estimated that 2. 6 million people (about 9% of the population) were in IPC Phase 3 or worse. By late 2025, the Food Security Cluster reported 2.
5 million people in need, while the World Food Programme (WFP) estimated 3. 3 million affected nationwide. A FAO-led assessment in the Far North in October 2025 confirmed severe food access constraints and harmful coping strategies.
The African Union warned of intensified drought stress in northern Cameroon on November 8, 2025, and cholera cases were confirmed in the Doumo Health Area of the North region shortly thereafter.
On November 25, 2025, WFP announced reductions in food assistance for refugees, internally displaced people, and vulnerable host communities due to funding shortfalls, further burdening households with no remaining buffer. FEWS NET projections for October 2025 to May 2026 indicate that large parts of the country will remain in IPC Phase 3 through mid-2026. The CRC assessment provides detailed community-level evidence confirming acute needs across the Far North, North, and East regions, where market dependence is high, food stocks are depleted, and coping capacities are severely eroded.
Source: reliefweb
