(Business in Cameroon) - On February 23, 2021, in Yaoundé, the Minister of Economy Alamine Ousmane Mey launched the consultations initiated to develop the inclusive strategy required to make Cameroon eligible for the Prevention and Resilience Allocation (PRA).

According to Alamine Ousmane Mey, to benefit from the enhanced support, Cameroon must elaborate "a strong and inclusive strategy that takes into account the sectoral and territorial points of view, as well as all the challenges, adequate and targeted solutions." Thus the consultation launched on February 23. Over the next two weeks, the consultations will be held successively in the country’s ten regional capitals thanks to the expertise of World Bank’s consultant Agora.

The minister indicates that because of the multiple challenges (notably the socio-political crisis in the North-West and South-West regions, Boko Haram in the Far North, and the influx of refugees in the East region),  Cameroon is a suitable candidate for this new World Bank financing.

Estimated at $669 million (close to XAF361 billion), the PRA is a World Bank initiative for enhanced support to countries at ‘risk of falling into high-intensity conflict or large-scale violence’ like Cameroon.

In December 2020, the PRA was approved for Burkina Faso, entitling the country to a resilience and prevention support of $700 million over the next three years to fund its initiatives to "mitigate risks and address the escalation of violence."

"Access to the PRA will support Burkina Faso’s strategy to prevent the escalation in violence by scaling up World Bank interventions for vulnerable persons and regions in conflict and under pressure, and by addressing the root causes of conflicts," the World Bank wrote at the time.

S.A.