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Millennium Development Goals in Cameroon

Mbororo refugee, Cameroon © Ebenezer Ndi Ngala / UNHCR

The heart of the strategy for achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in Cameroon, as articulated in the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) approved by development partners in 2003, lies in the assertion that strong national economic growth will leverage better lives for the poor. As in so many countries, this presumption is failing; whilst Cameroon has indeed performed reasonably well in recent years by conventional measures of economic prosperity, poverty indicators are stagnant or moving in reverse, with the notable exception of HIV prevalence which has dropped significantly.

The main poverty benchmark for the purpose of the MDGs in Cameroon is the level of income deemed necessary to meet basic living needs. 40% of the population fall below this poverty line, a figure unchanged nationally since 2001 which implies that poverty in rural areas is increasing. There are inevitable doubts about meeting the target of 25% by 2015.

The core problem is not hard to identify; the World Food Programme describes Cameroon as a food insecure country and has further demonstrated that food intake is lower now than in the early 1980s. The result is that over 30% of young children are classified as suffering from “moderate chronic malnutrition” and the child mortality rate is rising rather than falling. Despite the improved picture for HIV/AIDS, the broader measure of life expectancy has fallen below 50 years from a high of 59 years.

High population growth – almost 70% since 1987 – presents a tough challenge to food production and the government appears to have grasped that the MDGs require proactive rather than passive strategies. Internationally, there are understandable concerns that the very generous debt relief awarded following the 2005 G8 summit is not having an impact on poverty reduction. A new PRSP is therefore promised for 2008 with much closer attention to results. This will require focus on the sharp urban/rural divide; in particular that the provinces in the extreme north of the country have simultaneously the highest population density and the lowest yielding drought-prone land.

Health and HIV/AIDS in Cameroon

The government’s task will be eased slightly in the context of health-related MDGs in light of its decision to set targets which override and are less formidable than the normal MDG formulae. These “national targets” apparently reflect a realistic assessment of the resources and time available. The largest concession is for maternal mortality where the target is a reduction in mortality of 20% from a 1998 baseline rather than 75% from 1990. The adjusted target of 350 deaths per 100,000 births in 2015 far exceeds acceptable levels in the developed world and suggests very modest aspirations for the quality of health services in Cameroon.

The most recent 2005 statistics put the prevalence rate of HIV/AIDS in Cameroon at 5.4%, an improvement of over 50% since 2002. Several actions have been undertaken in recent years to fight the pandemic. Among them, the creation of a National Programme for the Fight against AIDS in 1998, the continuous reduction in the price of antiretroviral (ARV) drugs to a current low of less than US$5 a month, and the financial support of the country from the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. The national action plan for 2006-2010 envisages free ARV treatment for all those in need and free screening tests for vulnerable groups. There are currently over half a million people living with HIV/AIDS in Cameroon and 122,000 AIDS orphans.
The Environment in Cameroon

Environmental MDGs are likely to cause serious problems for Cameroon. Firstly, access to safe drinking water for 85% of the population that lives in rural areas barely exceeds 40%. Fewer than 10% of households throughout the country have adequate sanitation facilities. It is difficult to find evidence of any fundamental strategy to address this dire situation.

Logging, Cameroon

Secondly, much concern has been expressed about the rate of deforestation of the Cameroon forest, which stands today at 0.9% per annum. The country is home to part of the Congo Basin Forest, the largest in the world after the Amazon forest. Concerted efforts for the sustainable management of Cameroon’s forests both at the regional and sub-regional levels, together with some national initiatives, have received solid and sustained support from international development institutions and bilateral partners. However, government commitment to implement the resolutions and enforce existing legislation is in conflict with its reliance on timber and timber products for about 30% of non-oil exports and 20,000 direct livelihoods. Plans at the 2007 Bali conference on climate change to investigate financial compensation for countries which “avoid deforestation” could come to the rescue of Cameroon’s forests.
Politics in Cameroon

Cameroon is comprised of over 200 tribal groups and enjoys the unique status of a bilingual country (French and English) inherited from the colonial era. These cultural and linguistic diversities are viewed as an asset, which is capitalised in the world scene. Cameroon is a member of both the Commonwealth and the Francophonie.

President Paul Biya of Cameroon © United Nations' Integrated Regional Information Network

The first multi-party election following independence in 1960 did not take place until 1992. The victor was Paul Biya who had already been President for the previous 10 years, but opposition parties doubted the impartiality of the state-controlled election process and some violence occurred. The resulting creation of a National Election Observatory by the government was received with scepticism, being perceived as lacking the necessary autonomy. Nonetheless, the gradual approach to democracy continued with a decentralisation process that emanated from the 1996 revised constitution.

There are more than 160 legal political parties, but only a handful are represented in parliament. The dominant Democratic Cameroon People's Movement (RDPC) won an overwhelming 152 out of 180 seats in the election held in July 2007 and will continue to control the political scene. For some analysts, the poor electoral performance of the opposition parties, led by the Social Democratic Front (SDF), has mainly stemmed from the absence of a concerted strategy and united front to unseat the ruling party. The lack of transparency in the electoral process is viewed by others as the leading cause.

Although Biya himself will be aged 78 at the time of the next presidential election in 2011, he has hinted at plans to exploit the dominance of his party by amending the constitution to allow him to stand once again. International observers are already frustrated at the president’s inability to deal with Cameroon’s dismal record of corruption which engenders pervasive financial leakage which the economy can ill afford. Paul Biya’s defence of his longevity is that Cameroon enjoys a relatively calm political environment and stable society.
Human Rights in Cameroon

Political reforms undertaken in 1990 that guaranteed freedom of expression and association improved the country's human rights image. The creation in 1990 of the National Commission on Human Rights and Freedom, an independent body to promote and protect human rights, coupled with a more vocal and inquisitive private press and frequent reports of human rights issues in Cameroon by many observers and NGOs, has put enormous pressure on the government to improve the country's human rights record. Nevertheless tough libel laws effectively sustain state control over the media and Amnesty International remains an unwelcome visitor to the country. Its reports assert that police torture and abuse of detainees is commonplace, also pointing out that laws against homosexuality in Cameroon are inconsistent with international standards of non-discrimination.
Conflict in Cameroon

After the bloody internal conflicts that led to the independence of Cameroon in 1960, the country is now viewed as one of the most peaceful and stable in the central African sub-region. However there is a secessionist movement in the south of the country where minority English-speaking groups are represented by the Southern Cameroons National Council (SCNC). They argue that the region’s autonomy granted at independence has been gradually eroded. The government has banned the SCNC and disrupts any public meetings.

Problems in Bakassi, Cameroon © David Hecht / United Nations' Integrated Regional Information Network

Externally, the oil rich Peninsula of Bakassi has been a point of contention between the neighbouring giant Nigeria and Cameroon, both claiming control over it. The 2003 verdict of the International Court of Justice recognising the sovereignty of Cameroon over the area was supported by a resolution by the United Nations. Nigeria’s then President, Olusegun Obasanjo, accepted the judgment and a transitional handover period began in 2006. However, in 2007 21 Cameroonian troops were massacred in Bakassi and there are new claims in Nigeria that the deal should first have been ratified in parliament. The dispute may conceivably flare up once more.

Shockwaves from the tragic events in Darfur have finally reached Cameroon in the shape of 45,000 nomadic Mbororo herdsmen fleeing from anarchy in neighbouring Chad and the Central African Republic. Cameroon has awarded refugee status to the Mbororos who are suffering serious health problems. UNHCR has opened an office in the region to render assistance.



The OneWorld Cameroon Guide was first published in July 2005 with a text written by Volunteer Editor André Nguemdjom

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