Effects of the Cameroon Anglophone Armed Conflict on the Sexual and Reproductive Health of Adolescent Girls in Batibo Subdivision in the North West Region

Teke Johnson Takwa, Central Bureau for the Census and Population Studies, Yaounde-Cameroon

The ongoing armed conflict in English-speaking Cameroon has brought widespread negative impacts on the sexual and reproductive health of young people. These negative impacts include rape, unprotected sex; transactional sex, unintended pregnancies, increased spread of STDs including HIV/AIDS, etc. Using mostly qualitative data collected in August 2023 through a serious of stakeholder FGDs, this study reveals that this armed crisis led to social and economic vulnerability of youths which put their sexual and reproductive health at risk. Many cases of rape, unplanned pregnancies, transactional sex and abortions were reported in the course of this investigation. These findings bring into focus the need to strengthen interventions and policies to improve on the sex and reproductive health of the population in general and particularly young girls in regions affected by armed conflicts such as the North West Region of Cameroon. Keywords: armed conflict, sexual and reproductive health, adolescent