The Government of Cameroon, UNFPA, and the World Bank partner to enhance reproductive health services for women and girls

UNITED NATIONS, New York  – The Government of Cameroon, UNFPA, the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency, and the World Bank have joined forces in a new commitment to expand access to quality reproductive, maternal and child health services for women and girls in Cameroon.

The partnership will strengthen national supply chains, directly impacting the lives of more than 1.3 million women and girls, particularly in conflict-hit Adamawa, Far North and North regions.

With a $12.4 million investment from the World Bank, UNFPA will leverage its expertise and national partnerships to deliver essential health and education supplies to those most in need. Specifically, the collaboration will provide family planning services for over 300,000 couples, menstrual health kits to 4,500 adolescent girls and young women, school kits (including solar-powered study lamps) to 30,000 girls and literacy kits–including essential educational materials– to 2,000 out-of-school adolescent girls. Mobile clinics will also be deployed to extend health-care services to remote communities.

The need for international support has never been more critical: Cameroon is currently grappling with a deepening humanitarian crisis, particularly in its northern regions where non-state armed groups continue to launch attacks, causing widespread destruction and displacement. A humanitarian response plan to meet needs is just 32 percent funded, with gender-based violence response reaching only 19% of the requirements. In response, UNFPA is on the ground providing life-saving sexual and reproductive health services and gender-based violence prevention and response services. Overall UNFPA’s appeal for the humanitarian response has received 24% of required funds in 2024.

The new partnership, coordinated by the Ministry of the Economy, Planning and Regional Development, involves collaboration across various government sectors, particularly in education, health, and gender. UNFPA is working closely with the Ministry of Public Health to strengthen local health-care systems and ensure the quality, availability and accessibility of sexual and reproductive health services and supplies.

UNFPA’s work is part of a broader partnership between the World Bank and selected countries in West and Central Africa under the Sahel Women's Empowerment and Demographics Project (SWEDD). In Cameroon, the SWEDD has allocated $75 million for the 2021-2024 period to meet the needs of women and girls.

Allocating resources to address the vulnerabilities of adolescent girls and young women in Cameroon is a major priority for UNFPA, in order to empower women and girls to realize their rights and choices and safeguard their health and well-being.