Midwife LN_FR
Program Description (Background) / Description du programme (contexte)
On 7 February 2026, a devastating fire struck the Abattoir and Tribune IDP sites in Kolofata, Cameroon, affecting at least 574 households and destroying more than 470 shelters. The incident caused loss of life, multiple injuries, and the destruction of essential belongings, further worsening the already fragile living conditions of a population largely composed of women, children, and the elderly. Occurring in a context of chronic insecurity, repeated displacement, and limited humanitarian access, the disaster has exposed affected families to increased health risks, including untreated injuries, disease outbreaks due to overcrowding, and heightened food insecurity.
The fire has also placed immense pressure on an already under-resourced district health system, with local facilities overwhelmed and largely inaccessible to displaced families unable to afford care. Immediate humanitarian support is therefore critical to prevent avoidable deaths, restore access to essential health services, and protect vulnerable groups. Within the coordinated humanitarian response, IMC has been designated to address priority health needs, including restoring life-saving primary healthcare services, strengthening reproductive health and sexual violence response, and reinforcing referral and secondary care capacity for severe cases.
Within forty-eight hours of the alert, IMC’s rapid response team, based in Mokolo in the Far North Region, was deployed to provide emergency health assistance to populations affected by the fire. Although the initial deployment was planned for only two weeks, the scale and complexity of the needs far exceed this timeframe and are expected to persist for several months. Consequently, the intervention will be extended to three months, from 23 February to 22 May 2026, to ensure the continuity of life-saving services. In addition, a midwife will be integrated into the team to strengthen the reproductive health component and ensure that affected populations receive essential maternal and reproductive healthcare services.