Sylvestre Tetchiada
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/ 21 July 2005

When husbands become pimps

Business at the numerous money transfer agencies in Cameroon’s capital, Yaoundé, is typically a brisk affair. Of the many people who frequent the agencies, one group is of particular interest, however: the husbands of women who have gone abroad to earn money from prostitution.

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/ 19 July 2005

Corruption threatens Cameroon’s forests

Just more than a decade ago, Cameroon drafted a law that was intended to regulate commercial use of the country’s forests. In spite of this, corruption and uncontrolled exploitation are putting forest areas at risk, say NGOs. The 1994 Law on the Regulation of Forests, Fauna and Fishing contains clauses that limit logging, with a view to protecting the environment.

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/ 17 May 2005

Teachers give Cameroon’s school system a failing grade

In the run-up to examinations, students frequently complain that teachers pile too much work on them. In Cameroon, however, the opposite is true. Since the academic year got under way in 2004, strikes by teachers have disrupted the education of millions of secondary-school pupils, and the sight of small groups of students roaming the streets when they should be in class has become common.

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/ 5 May 2005

For Cameroon’s pygmies, no forest is impenetrable enough

With no telephone connection to the outside world, and a single access road that is little more than a forest trail, the village of Lomie might as well be situated at the other side of the Earth as far as many Cameroonians are concerned. For the Baka pygmies, however, the position of the settlement is more ambiguous: too accessible for loggers, but too remote for the benefits of modern life to make themselves felt.

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/ 17 August 2004

Blood is big business in Cameroon

The term "blood money" has come to have new meaning in Cameroon, where certain patients and their families complain that a brisk trade in trafficked blood has led to shortages in hospitals. "Getting hold of a pouch of blood for a patient who has urgent need of it can be an experience akin to Calvary," said Martin Djomo, the husband of someone who is dependent on blood transfusions.

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/ 5 August 2004

Flicking the switch on growth

Mention the word "electricity" to Cameroonians and the chances are that they will laugh ruefully. For several years now, power cuts have been a fact of life in this West African country — crippling businesses and eating into economic growth. The predicted 4% growth in the country this year is significantly lower than the previous two years, and has been blamed on the erratic electricity supplies.