WWF rehabilitates stand taps for six communities around Lobeke National Park

Six communities around Lobeke National Park now have access to potable water thanks to WWF. An estimated 23,000 people in the periphery of the park live in dire conditions characterized by extreme poverty, diseases and malnutrition, according to WWF findings.

The situation is worse owing to the influx of over 3000 refugees who fled civil unrest in Central African Republic. This disturbing situation worsened the quality of hygiene and sanitation in households within local communities, resulting in a high demand for potable water in the villages. Shortage of medical personnel in the area leaves many locals vulnerable as more adults and children die from diarrhea, HIV/AIDS, fever and malaria. The entire area counts only four trained medical doctors and 50 nurses, with a ratio of one doctor to about 6,000 people and one nurse to about 600 people.

Faced with this situation, WWF in collaboration with Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife initiated activities in 2015 aimed at improving the quality of drinking water, hygiene and sanitation in schools and households. Under the project: Support Water, Hygiene & Sanitation in Communities Living in the Jengi Forest, Cameroon, WWF has been multiplying efforts to tackle health and hygiene challenges affecting most households in the communities. This includes easy access to potable water and a vast campaign to tackle HIV/AIDS and malnutrition within schools and households made up of Baka and Bantu.