About Cameroon

The former French Cameroon and part of British Cameroon merged in 1961 to form the present country. Cameroon is located in central Africa. It is slightly larger than California. The total population is around 20 million. Just over half of the population is under 20 years old. Cameroon has generally enjoyed stability, which has permitted the development of agriculture, roads, and railways, as well as a petroleum industry.

Since 1990 the government has embarked on various IMF and World Bank programs to spur business investment, increase efficiency in agriculture, improve trade, and recapitalize the nation’s bank. These programs increased Cameroon’s National Debt. Debt servicing is a significant drain on government resources and impacts considerably on the provision of basic services such as education and health.

Cameroon is severely affected by preventable diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis, and HIV/AIDS. Because of insufficient healthcare services, a growing number of parents are dying leaving their children orphaned and without any resources as health care absorbs household funds, depleting savings and other resources reserved for education, food, and other purposes.

The country is also affected by economic crises which force many parents to abandon their children simply because they are unable to support them.