37% of Cameroonians do not have access to potable drinking water - Survey

Conducted for six months by the University of Yaoundé II in the national triangle, it is intended as a tool to aid decision-making authorities.

"How many Cameroonians are hungry? How many have access to clean water and health care?" These questions are some of those raised by teams from the University of Yaounde II on how Cameroonians live now.

Since January, 1,200 people aged 18 and over were asked about the country and the survey is now complete. The results state that 45% of Cameroonians have enough to eat and 37% of people have access to clean water. In detail, 22% of people have a "source" of water inside their homes, 36% in their concession and 42% traveled a long distance for supplies.

Health-wise, only 39% of Cameroonians have access to medical care. Having also weighed down on earnings, the survey reveals that 10% of Cameroonians live in comfort while 90% inhabitants are brawling to make ends meet.

To understand their approach, Prof. Henri Ngoa Tabi head of department of International Economics and Development, Faculty of Economics and managements of UYII and national coordinator of the survey said: "We made this research because that opinion surveys are a support tool for decision making for governments and civil society. They give us the vision of what people think of its services and its policies. This allows the decision maker to keep the controls as they drive or redirect how to solve problems. Our work is to aid in decision making."

This research is not the first for the University of Yaoundé II. Similar studies were conducted on microfinance institutions in Cameroon, small and medium enterprises, among others. All they hope is to see the results of their months of research considered.

"Our hope is that governments will use them to challenge us and also give us results. It is a way to get policy makers to rely on science to govern," noted Prof. Henri Ngoa Tabi.

The study by the University of Yaounde II was funded by Afrobarometer, an apolitical organization that conducts opinion surveys on governance in Africa since 1999.

To date, five surveys were conducted. For the sixth, the results has covered 35 countries and examined among others, the development of democracy, the look of Cameroonians in their institutions, and international cooperation on corruption.