DEVON, the United Kingdom — Sub-Saharan Africa is one of the primary global focal points concerning development, but economies are in danger of stagnating. Due to manifold reasons, such as lack of economic performance in the region’s largest economies, climate impacts and turbulence in the global economy, growth is in decline, dropping from 3.6% in 2022 to 2.5% in 2023. Here are some insights into development strategies in Cameroon.
Barriers to Development
The World Bank states that the prevalence of corruption primarily obstructed development strategies in Cameroon. It states, “Cameroon suffers from weak governance, hindering its development and ability to attract investors.” Indeed, Transparency International’s 2022 Corruption Perception Index gives Cameroon a score of 26 out of 100, making it 142nd out of the 180 countries tested.
However, from a social context, the number of poor in Cameroon increased by 12% between 2007 and 2014. While projections of GDP increase might seem to favor the country, within these vast statistics are a plethora of smaller, yet immensely significant, barriers to development strategies in Cameroon.
A Ground-Up Approach
Addressing these barriers is a vast array of charities and initiatives, each with a strongly defined and specific development strategy.
Founded in 2009 by students from the University of Southampton, and in partnership with a native Cameroonian, Cameroon Catalyst is one such charity with a dedicated focus. For their first five years, the group worked with a single village in the eastern region called Bambouti, undergoing five projects: school buildings, a solar electrification hub, a mechanical workshop, a medical center and improved housing. Each project held the intention of enabling the village to attain its own sustainable development. The medical center gave 678 vaccinations to children in 2019.
After a reassessment of objectives in 2013, the charity decided to expand to other local settlements, prioritizing water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH). The charity holds that addressing basic needs such as these is a vital development strategy in Cameroon. They are not the only ones who believe this: UNICEF also stated in its 2022 report for Cameroon that WASH represented the greatest funding needs.
Perspectives on Development
The United Nations defines development as “a multidimensional undertaking to achieve a higher quality of life for all people.” Within this exist many interdependent components such as economics, social development and environmental preservation, allowing for a broad range of approaches.
The Borgen Project spoke to Tom Edwards, Chair of the Board of Trustees for Cameroon Catalyst. Like many who come to work with the charity, Tom’s involvement began as a student and has led him to his current position.
A Catalyst for the Sustainable Development
Tom says that the approach the charity takes is to “act as a catalyst for the sustainable development of rural communities” by way of “empowering local people to engage in their own sustainable development.” This is a people-oriented approach that may be overlooked in measures of development that take into account only GDP. The focus on autonomy, however, is clear, and chimes with the U.K.’s recent White Paper on International Development, which asserted that countries should “determine their own development.”
When asked why the charity chooses to focus on rural communities rather than urbanization, Tom says, “The impact of development strategies that prioritize urbanization is widespread and has the potential to raise prosperity nationwide. Development strategy, however, must be coordinated… marginalized communities being consulted at every stage.”
He adds, “Rural communities are suffering… younger community members are leaving rural areas to find work in the city, reducing the strength of the agricultural workforce.” The charity’s work in rural communities is therefore pivotal as a means to “enable improved opportunities for prosperity.”
A Group Effort
Cameroon Catalyst has not worked alone on its projects. One of its four key focus areas is collaboration: sharing knowledge with other organizations and charities. Recently it worked with hydroelectric experts Groundwater Relief and Architectural NGO Article 25. Tom says that during research trips, they are always looking for opportunities to communicate with other charities delivering similar work such as UNICEF.
There is a strong sense of the charity’s dedication to collaborative development, where many organizations, techniques and perspectives are involved, not just measures of GDP.
The Perception of Development
In today’s world, the general public outlook towards development can be skewed. The Institute for Public Policy Research published a paper stating that in the U.K., there is “relatively low-level awareness of development institutions,” citing a 2011 survey that found that 57% of the public believes that “much development assistance is wasted.”
When The Borgen Project asked Tom how he would encourage the public to engage with development, he referred to the previously mentioned definitions from the United Nations. He emphasizes the need to deliver development “in a sustainable way, and for the communities that need it most.”
More Than a Statistic
Despite the vital resource of GDP for measuring the growth of a country, Tom says this does not always reflect the actual standards of living of individuals within the country. “It’s becoming increasingly evident that assuming a correlation between growing GDP and improving living standards is not necessarily true,” he says. Instead, he posits that a better way to approach development is to focus on specific indicators (like WASH), albeit whilst operating in a stable economy and remaining within ecological limits.
This approach, says Tom, “is a much more comprehensive way of ensuring sustainable development.” Better still, it has “a tangible impact on the quality of people’s lives.”
– Luke Gouldson
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