Cameroon on OneWorld
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| © New Internationalist |
Despite generous debt relief and adherence to open market economic prescriptions, progress in poverty reduction in Cameroon is largely disappointing and behind schedule for the Millennium Development Goals. A stagnant political culture and the draining effect of widespread corruption are contributory factors. Significant developments in world negotiations for mitigating climate change may draw attention to Cameroon as home of one of the world's most important tropical forests.
updated January 2009
Poverty in Cameroon
The heart of the strategy for achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in Cameroon 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, most poverty and health indicators have moved in reverse since the baseline year of 1991.
Despite an improved picture for HIV/AIDS, life expectancy has fallen to 50 years from a high of 59 years. Literacy amongst the 15-24 age group is over 80% but net enrolment in primary education has been stuck at around 75% since 1996. Completion of primary schooling in the poor northern provinces may be less than 25%.
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 falls below this poverty line, a figure unchanged nationally since 2001 which raises inevitable doubts about meeting the target of 25% by 2015. Poverty in rural areas is increasing, in particular in the provinces in the extreme north of the country which have simultaneously the highest population density and the lowest yielding drought-prone land. High population growth - almost 70% since 1987 – is one of the factors that dampens the impact of economic growth.
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 Poverty Reduction Strategy promised for 2008 has not yet materialised.
Food Security in Cameroon
The core problem for poverty reduction 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 19% of young children are underweight and the child mortality rate is rising rather than falling.
Although up to 70% of the population is dependent on agriculture, the government allocates less than 3% of the national budget to the sector, barely a third of expenditure on the military and far below the 10% commitment of the 2003 Maputo declaration. Fertile land is not fully utilised and the country is dependent on food imports; for example, less than 15% of rice consumption is produced locally.
The rapid escalation of food and fuel prices that occurred in the first half of 2008 therefore hit Cameroonians particularly hard. Riots in several cities were the most serious for a decade and the government was forced to acknowledge that food security cannot be left to the vagaries of world market forces. Radical targets to double food production by 2012 have been introduced, supported by subsidies for seed and fertilizer. Meanwhile prices remain high in relation to household ability to pay, creating an uncertain outlook for poverty reduction.
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 is 350 deaths per 100,000 births in 2015 but the actual rate had risen alarmingly to 669 by 2006.
It is understood that 80% of qualified doctors have left the country, reducing coverage to one doctor for each 30,000 people. Poor standards of health are also attributable to the lack of safe water and sanitation. 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.
The most recent 2005 statistics put the prevalence 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 the National AIDS Control Committee, and the continuous reduction in the price of antiretroviral (ARV) drugs. Indeed ARVs have been available free since 2007, a commitment of the national action plan for 2006-2010. Over half of those in need of ARVs at the end of 2007 received the treatment compared with less than 5% in 2003. At the same date there were over half a million people living with HIV/AIDS in Cameroon and 122,000 AIDS orphans.
Climate Change in Cameroon
Already the major cause of sickness and death in Cameroon, malaria is reported to be increasing, possibly the consequence of rising temperatures. Predictions for climate change in Cameroon also focus on the reduced volume and predictability of rainfall. Statistics show that rainfall has already decreased by over 2% per decade since 1960. Crop yields have been poor, in particular the cash crop of cocoa has been affected by unsteady rains. The low lying coastal region will be at risk from rising sea levels.
Cameroon is also caught up in the global debate about mitigation of climate change. The country is home to part of the Congo Basin Forest, the largest in the world after the Amazon forest. Much concern has been expressed about the rate of deforestation which was 1.0% pa between 2000 and 2005. Concerted efforts for the sustainable management of Cameroon's forests 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.
Hopes for the rescue of Cameroon's forests have turned to global climate change negotiations which could result in financial compensation in return for reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD). Whatever is the outcome of the mathematics of REDD, its success will depend on recognition of the needs of people who live in the forest together with the elimination of the culture of corruption amongst government and business interests.
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| Mbororo refugee, Cameroon © Ebenezer Ndi Ngala / UNHCR |
Despite an improved picture for HIV/AIDS, life expectancy has fallen to 50 years from a high of 59 years. Literacy amongst the 15-24 age group is over 80% but net enrolment in primary education has been stuck at around 75% since 1996. Completion of primary schooling in the poor northern provinces may be less than 25%.
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 falls below this poverty line, a figure unchanged nationally since 2001 which raises inevitable doubts about meeting the target of 25% by 2015. Poverty in rural areas is increasing, in particular in the provinces in the extreme north of the country which have simultaneously the highest population density and the lowest yielding drought-prone land. High population growth - almost 70% since 1987 – is one of the factors that dampens the impact of economic growth.
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 Poverty Reduction Strategy promised for 2008 has not yet materialised.
Food Security in Cameroon
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| Supplies of Maize in Cameroon © Reinnier Kaze / IRIN News |
Although up to 70% of the population is dependent on agriculture, the government allocates less than 3% of the national budget to the sector, barely a third of expenditure on the military and far below the 10% commitment of the 2003 Maputo declaration. Fertile land is not fully utilised and the country is dependent on food imports; for example, less than 15% of rice consumption is produced locally.
The rapid escalation of food and fuel prices that occurred in the first half of 2008 therefore hit Cameroonians particularly hard. Riots in several cities were the most serious for a decade and the government was forced to acknowledge that food security cannot be left to the vagaries of world market forces. Radical targets to double food production by 2012 have been introduced, supported by subsidies for seed and fertilizer. Meanwhile prices remain high in relation to household ability to pay, creating an uncertain outlook for poverty reduction.
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 is 350 deaths per 100,000 births in 2015 but the actual rate had risen alarmingly to 669 by 2006.
It is understood that 80% of qualified doctors have left the country, reducing coverage to one doctor for each 30,000 people. Poor standards of health are also attributable to the lack of safe water and sanitation. 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.
The most recent 2005 statistics put the prevalence 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 the National AIDS Control Committee, and the continuous reduction in the price of antiretroviral (ARV) drugs. Indeed ARVs have been available free since 2007, a commitment of the national action plan for 2006-2010. Over half of those in need of ARVs at the end of 2007 received the treatment compared with less than 5% in 2003. At the same date there were over half a million people living with HIV/AIDS in Cameroon and 122,000 AIDS orphans.
Climate Change in Cameroon
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| Rising prices provoke riots in Cameroon © Elizabeth Dickinson / IRIN News |
Cameroon is also caught up in the global debate about mitigation of climate change. The country is home to part of the Congo Basin Forest, the largest in the world after the Amazon forest. Much concern has been expressed about the rate of deforestation which was 1.0% pa between 2000 and 2005. Concerted efforts for the sustainable management of Cameroon's forests 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.
Hopes for the rescue of Cameroon's forests have turned to global climate change negotiations which could result in financial compensation in return for reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD). Whatever is the outcome of the mathematics of REDD, its success will depend on recognition of the needs of people who live in the forest together with the elimination of the culture of corruption amongst government and business interests.
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