Cameroon on course for inclusive development
The Minister of Social Affairs H.E. Mme. Pauline Irene Nguene has reiterated in strong terms the importance placed by Cameroon on the protection and promotion of the rights of Persons with Disabilities. The Minister laid these emphases during the opening of a two-day meeting of the National Committee for the Rehabilitation and Socio-Economic Reintegration of Persons with Disabilities abbreviated in its French acronym CONRHA. The meeting from September 18-19 2024 that took place in Yaounde, had one of its high points being the official launching of a Council Excellence in Inclusion Award (CEIA) for Municipal Councils across Cameroon.
The CEIA has the main objectives to promote the inclusion of persons with disabilities in Cameroon which enables them to exercise their full potential; and to enhance the implementation of the 2010 law on disability in Cameroon.
Making reference to efforts made by Cameroon to give Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) their best livelihood, the Director in charge of the Protection of Persons with Disabilities and the Elderly at MINAS Mme. Ndengho Maurine recalled steps taken by the government, international entities, the civil society and local governing institutions to promote inclusion. Cameroon, she buttressed has resolved to fight all forms of exclusion particularly through better protection of persons with disabilities; improve the living conditions of all Cameroonians by offering equal opportunities; and intensify the fight against social exclusion particularly in favor of Persons with Disabilities.
In Cameroon, about three million seven hundred thousand (3,700,000) of the population of about twenty-five million (25,000,000) live with disabilities, making 15% of the population. The Ministry of Social Affairs (MINAS) through CONRHA as an advisory body works to facilitate the coordination of efforts by public authorities, civil society organizations and other private individuals for the benefit of this group of people. These efforts are employed with the participation of PWDs, stakeholders, decentralized local authorities, the private sector, development organizations, and the civil society who are all working in synergy for impact effectiveness. For two days CONRHA evaluated and appreciated the efforts undertaken and actions carried out particularly in the educational sector and the promotion of the socio economic or professional integration of PWDs in Cameroon. It also offered the opportunity in the context of decentralization to highlight the role of decentralized local authorities through the municipalities which constitute the key actors for local development in order to LEAVE NO ONE BEHIND in the perspective of inclusive development.
Working with the councils to promote inclusion has been an ongoing effort in local development initiatives and also as a means to raise awareness nation-wide on the implementation of the UN convention on the rights of persons with disabilities. According to Dr. Foyeth Eugene of the CBC Health Services, this involves all national stakeholders to ensure that all sectors of the country are inclusive. With inclusion, everyone with a disability will be given equal opportunities. It is in ensuring that Persons with Disabilities have the right to life, freedom of movement, education, health, protection during situations of risks or humanitarian emergencies, access to justice, participation in political and public life, an adequate standard of living etc.
According to an expert from the United Nations Centre for Human Rights and Democracy in Central Africa, on 28th October 2023, the process of ratification of the United Nations on the rights of persons with disabilities finally came to an end with the notification by the UN Secretary General on the instruments relating to it. The Minister of Social Affairs while confirming that this has put Cameroon at a decisive turning point also reassures Cameroonians that the entry into force of the convention has obliged everyone to be part of inclusion. The initial country report on inclusion is to be submitted to the international community in 2025.
Minister Pauline Irene Nguene also warns that the ratification of the convention also exposes Cameroon to sanctions in the event of non-compliance or violation of the provision contained therein. Cameroon is reportedly on course to properly implement the disposition of the convention and the participation of all stakeholders is primordial. The Minister is confident that her collaborators in this domain are up to the task for the 2030 agenda on inclusive development for Persons with Disabilities.
