Members of the South West/North West Task Force, SNWOT, presented the 2026–2030 plan to diplomatic missions in Yaoundé on Thursday, September 10, calling for stronger support for women-led efforts to restore peace in the troubled English-speaking regions of Cameroon.
The strategic briefing, held at the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Foundation, brought together women leaders from the 13 Divisions of the North West and South West Regions alongside Regional Delegates for Ministry of Women's Empowerment and the Family. Swiss Ambassador to Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea, Natalie Kohli, also attended the meeting.
The presentation came against the backdrop of continued insecurity and violence in the two regions, nearly a decade after the conflict began.
For SNWOT General Coordinator Waah Clotilda Andiensa, the absence of peace is measured in what ordinary people still cannot safely do.
“Peace isn’t something we can measure like a cup of garri,” General Coordinator told reporters.
“We measure peace when women can walk to the farms, churches, markets without having to run away from gunshots.” she added
She pointed to the continued disruption of education as another measure of the crisis.
“Children can go to school freely as we expected them to have started school on the 7th of September but unfortunately it is not the same in the North West and South West Regions which is presently under the lockdown,” Waah Clotilda said.
“That, to us, means that there is not yet peace because if it were, we would want to see our children go to school.”
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SNWOT General Coordinator Waah Clotilda Andiensa addressing Yaoundé gathering
Clotilda Andiensa said communities continued to face insecurity and violence despite years of efforts to address the crisis.
“The reality remains that there is still a lot of insecurity. Communities are still being hurt and there is still violence that is happening,” she said.
SNWOT says its new strategic plan is designed to respond to these realities through five priority areas.
The first is to build resilience and social cohesion within communities. The task force also wants to strengthen the participation of women and young people in peace processes, advocate for policies capable of producing change, strengthen SNWOT as a movement, and develop partnerships at national and international levels.
“We want to build resilience and social cohesion within the communities. We want to strengthen participation of women and youth in peace processes,” she said.
“We equally want to advocate for policies that can bring change. We equally want to strengthen SNWOT as a movement and we really want to develop partnerships both at the national and international levels.”
The General Coordinator said partnerships would be central to turning the plan from a document into practical action.
“We believe that if we bring strategic partnerships, we will be able to improve on the results that we have been having,” she said emphasising that “we will be able to look at things in a more structured way with people who really understand them.”
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She said the briefing was also an opportunity to place SNWOT’s priorities before potential partners and open discussions on areas where diplomatic missions and other institutions could contribute.
“We have our strategic plan and different priority areas and we know that our partners have their own priority areas,” Clotilda Andiensa said.
“It is our wish that today they have sat here and listened to us, they have seen what we really want to do differently as women in the community and we will be looking forward to hearing from each and every one of them on how they can engage to support us.”
Speaking earlier at the meeting, Swiss Ambassador Natalie Kohli reaffirmed Switzerland’s support for efforts to restore peace in the conflict affected regions of Cameroon.
The Ambassador said peace could not be built by one actor working alone.
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Restoring peace, she explained, requires cooperation between communities, civil society organisations, governments, international organisations, research institutions and development partners.
“It requires listening, learning and working together even when progress is gradual,” she said.
The Swiss diplomat said Switzerland had supported peacebuilding efforts in Cameroon for many years and remained convinced that women have an important role to play.
“We are very convinced about the role of women in peacebuilding process,” she said.
“As women are anchored in the communities, they contribute to making peace more sustainable and more inclusive.”
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For SNWOT, the challenge now is to turn the priorities contained in its 2026–2030 plan into sustained action in communities where insecurity continues to shape daily life.
The task force hopes the diplomatic briefing will lead to concrete partnerships capable of supporting women and youth to play a stronger role in the search for peace.
By Hilltopvoices with Reports
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