How COVID-19 is placing increased pressure on water resources for farmers in Cameroon

In Cameroon’s Marua region, the pandemic means farmers are now faced with the double challenge of using what limited water resources they have to grow crops while saving lives through handwashing.

18 January 2021
2 min read
by Tetsekela Anyiam-Osigwe
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<article> <h1> <span>How COVID-19 is placing increased pressure on water resources for farmers in Cameroon</span> </h1> <div><p>In Cameroon’s Marua region, the pandemic means farmers are now faced with the double challenge of using what limited water resources they have to grow crops while saving lives through handwashing.</p> </div> <ul> <li> <b>18 January 2021</b> </li> <li> <b class="me-2">by</b> <span> <a href="https://www.gavi.org/vaccineswork/authors/tetsekela-anyiam-osigwe" hreflang="en">Tetsekela Anyiam-Osigwe</a> </span> </li> </ul> <figure> <img src="https://www.gavi.org/sites/default/files/vaccineswork/2021/Thumb/RS31759__DSC4071_h2.jpg" width="1440" height="960" alt="woman washing her hand at a handwashing station in front of her home in Marua – Gavi/2020/Christophe Da Silva" loading="lazy"> <figcaption>woman washing her hand at a handwashing station in front of her home in Marua – Gavi/2020/Christophe Da Silva</figcaption> </figure> <div> <div> <span data-type="column" data-id="96476"></span> <div> <div> <div> <div> <p>In 2019, residents across Marua’s community were given lessons on how to best use scarce water resources for sustainable agriculture. These informal classes took place in groups that included both male and female farmers, some of whom were refugees displaced by water scarcity, gaining new knowledge and skills to empower them to make better farming decisions.</p> <p></p><figure role="group" class="align-center"> <img alt="Caption: people gathered for agricultural courses in Marua Photographer credit: Gavi/2020/Christophe Da Silva" data-entity-type data-entity-uuid src="https://www.gavi.org/sites/default/files/vaccineswork/2021/Thumb/RS31746__DSC0112_h2_1.jpg"> <figcaption><em>The farming community gathered for agricultural courses in Marua<br> <strong>Gavi/2020/Christophe Da Silva</strong></em></figcaption> </figure> <blockquote> <h2>They learned about new ways to carry out agricultural best practices for successful crop cultivation, including which types of chemicals to use and which to avoid.</h2> </blockquote> </div> </div> </div> </div> <span data-type="column" data-id="96486"></span> </div> <div> <div> <div> <ul><li> <img src="https://www.gavi.org/sites/default/files/vaccineswork/2021/Thumb/RS31748__DSC0231_h2.jpg" width="800" height="534" alt="People in the Marua region planting crops – Photographer credit: Gavi/2020/Christophe Da Silva" loading="lazy"> </li><li> <img src="https://www.gavi.org/sites/default/files/vaccineswork/2021/Thumb/RS31752__DSC1973_h2.jpg" width="800" height="534" alt="Women on their way to the farm – Photographer credit: Gavi/2020/Christophe Da Silva" loading="lazy"> </li><li> <img src="https://www.gavi.org/sites/default/files/vaccineswork/2021/Thumb/RS31747__DSC0170_h2.jpg" width="800" height="534" alt="Two women farming in the Marua region – Photographer credit: Gavi/2020/Christophe Da Silva" loading="lazy"> </li></ul> </div> <div> <span class="btn js-btn -white">Load more</span> </div> </div> </div> <div> <span data-type="column" data-id="96501"></span> <div> <div> <div> <div> <h3>The pandemic in focus</h3> <p>Since then, the <a href="https://www.gavi.org/covid19" title="Responding to COVID-19">COVID-19</a> pandemic has placed even more pressure on Marua’s limited water resources because of the increased need for handwashing to prevent the virus from spreading across the community.</p> <h3>Handwashing as a lifesaver for the community</h3> <p><a href="https://www.gavi.org/vaccineswork/why-washing-your-hands-so-important-during-pandemic" title="Why handwashing with soap is the most effective way to stop viruses">Handwashing</a> with soap is one of the most effective ways to stop COVID-19 from spreading. This is why communities in Marua came together to promote handwashing with soap and water, to teach families about the importance of properly washing their hands in order to avoid catching and transmitting COVID-19.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> <span data-type="column" data-id="96511"></span> </div> <div> <div> <div> <ul><li> <img src="https://www.gavi.org/sites/default/files/vaccineswork/2021/Thumb/RS31758__DSC3022_h2.jpg" width="1440" height="960" alt="A family being taught how to wash hands properly at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic – Photographer credit: Gavi/2020/Christophe Da Silva" loading="lazy"> </li><li> <img src="https://www.gavi.org/sites/default/files/vaccineswork/2021/Thumb/RS31759__DSC4071_h2.jpg" width="1440" height="960" alt="A woman washing her hands at a handwashing station in front of her home in Marua – Photographer credit: Gavi/2020/Christophe Da Silva" loading="lazy"> </li><li> <img src="https://www.gavi.org/sites/default/files/vaccineswork/2021/Thumb/RS31757__DSC2968_h2.jpg" width="1080" height="721" alt="A woman given water to wash her hands with soap – Photographer: Gavi/2020/Christophe Da Silva" loading="lazy"> </li><li> <img src="https://www.gavi.org/sites/default/files/vaccineswork/2021/Thumb/RS31756__DSC2954_h2.jpg" width="1080" height="720" alt="A woman in Marua washing her hands and the hands of her child – Photographer: Gavi/2020/Christophe Da Silva" loading="lazy"> </li></ul> </div> <div> <span class="btn js-btn -white">Load more</span> </div> </div> </div> </div> <p> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.gavi.org/vaccineswork/how-covid-19-placing-increased-pressure-water-resources-farmers-cameroon">Original article</a> </p><p>This article was originally published on <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.gavi.org/vaccineswork">VaccinesWork</a> </p><script>(function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start': new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0], j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src= 'https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f); })(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-M7H54VD');</script><noscript><iframe src="https://www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-M7H54VD" height="0" width="0" style="display:none;visibility:hidden"></iframe></noscript></article>

woman washing her hand at a handwashing station in front of her home in Marua – Gavi/2020/Christophe Da Silva

In 2019, residents across Marua’s community were given lessons on how to best use scarce water resources for sustainable agriculture. These informal classes took place in groups that included both male and female farmers, some of whom were refugees displaced by water scarcity, gaining new knowledge and skills to empower them to make better farming decisions.

They learned about new ways to carry out agricultural best practices for successful crop cultivation, including which types of chemicals to use and which to avoid.

The pandemic in focus

Since then, the COVID-19 pandemic has placed even more pressure on Marua’s limited water resources because of the increased need for handwashing to prevent the virus from spreading across the community.

Handwashing as a lifesaver for the community

Handwashing with soap is one of the most effective ways to stop COVID-19 from spreading. This is why communities in Marua came together to promote handwashing with soap and water, to teach families about the importance of properly washing their hands in order to avoid catching and transmitting COVID-19.