The U.S. Embassy in Yaoundé is pleased to announce that local organization Société Coopérative Green Solutions has been selected as the recipient of the 2023 Julia Taft Refugee Fund.  This fund was created to support local initiatives that improve the lives of refugees and/or returnees via a one-time intervention.  Société Coopérative Green Solutions received $24,850 U.S. dollars (14.9 million F CFA) for the construction of a grain bank and toilets, and for carrying out reforestation activities at Mabas, in Mokolo Subdivision, Mayo Tsanaga Division, in the Far-North Region.  These resources will serve a community of both out-of-camp refugees and host populations. The grant will help to reduce post-harvest losses and ensure food availability in all seasons, reduce open-air defecation and mitigate the occurrence and impact of cholera and other diseases during the wet season, and contribute to regenerating the vegetation cover, restoring degraded land, and providing future income.

This is the 16th year in a row that the United States government has awarded a Cameroonian organization with a Julia Taft grant.  The United States is the largest donor of humanitarian assistance in Cameroon, contributing over $82 million U.S. dollars (49.2 billion F CFA) in fiscal year 2022 to provide food, water, shelter, and other services for vulnerable populations.  We provided food to more than 540,000 of the most vulnerable people in Cameroon – refugees, the internally displaced, and other Cameroonians affected by conflict.

We recognize the hospitality of the government of Cameroon and of the Cameroonian people in continuing to host more than 450,000 refugees from neighboring countries.  Protecting the rights of refugees and ensuring they have access to jobs and education for their children is fundamental to supporting stability in the region.  The United States stands ready to continue to work with the Cameroonian government to support refugees inside its borders.