February 11th is Cameroon’s National Youth Day, a celebration of the country’s greatest asset for the future: its youth. Each year and in each village and town, primary and secondary schools participate in cultural festivals and parades to remind their communities and the world of the stake that they hold for tomorrow’s success.  

While they may currently be minors, they are not a minority. According to the 2004 Demographic and Health Surveys, 65% of the Cameroonian population is under the age of 25. This is nearly 2 in 3 people in Cameroon!

Here are a few numbers to represent the challenges that Cameroonian families and communities face in meeting the needs of children and young people in order to shape a better tomorrow:

- 16% of primary school-aged children are not enrolled in school

- 30% of all children under 5 suffer stunted growth

- 30% of Cameroonian households lack access to clean drinking water. In rural areas, 53% of households can’t access clean drinking water.

- Only 1 in 3 young women (aged 15-24) has a comprehensive knowledge of HIV/AIDS.

- An estimated 300,000 Cameroonian women (aged 15+) are living with HIV, emphasizing the importance of mother-to-child transmission.

- There are over 45,000 cases of pediatric AIDS in Cameroon.

- An estimated 300,000 children have been orphaned after losing one or both parents to HIV/AIDS.

Read all of UNICEF’s latest indicators on Cameroon’s children and youth.

These numbers are daunting. ”Il y a du travail” is phrase heard in many conversations about the future. Indeed, “there is work to be done.”

But Cameroon is young, it is resilient, and the solutions are out there.

Tags: HIV/AIDS, News from Cameroon, orphans, population health, statistics, youth network