Magister Scientiae Dentium - MSc(Dent) / The majority of Cameroonians depend on traditional medicines for their health care needs and about seven per cent of the average household health budget is spent on traditional medicines irrespective of their incomes. The aim of this study was (i) to assess the role of traditional healers (THs) in providing oral care services in Cameroon; (ii) to determine their cost of treatment and to investigate reasons why people visit THs. The present study was cross sectional and consisted of a sample of 21 THs and 52 clients with a history of dental problems. It utilized semi structured questionnaires and photographs to collect data. The mean age of THs was 46.0 years (range 20-77 years). Thirty per cent of THs were above 40 years and the majority males. Nearly a quarter of the THs practiced as herbalists and the remainder practiced both divination and herbalism. More than two thirds of Cameroonians, who patronize THs for their oral health needs, fall within the 20-40 year age group. THs in this region are experienced and enjoy good relationships with hospitals and other THs. However, collaboration between the oral health work force and THs is very poor as only 6% of all patients seen by THs are referred to the dentist. Socio-cultural and economic factors affect the oral health care seeking behavior of patients in this area and only 6.5% of patients visit dental clinics. Reasons for not attending dental clinics included cost, poor accessibility, superstition and fear. / South Africa

Magister Philosophiae - MPhil / Sub-Saharan African countries in general with particular reference to Ghana, Cameroon and Burkina Faso depend mostly on agriculture which is seen as the main source of income. Agriculture provides income for a large percentage of the rural population, and employs about 70 per cent of its labour force with a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of about 30 per cent. Ghana, Cameroon and Burkina Faso as well as a large majority of African countries depend on subsistence farming and the cultivation of subsistence crops helps provide food and ensures food security for the people. Although they mostly depend on subsistence crops, they also produce primary export crops such as cocoa for Ghana, coffee for Cameroon, and cotton for Burkina Faso which represent a major source of foreign exchange. Due to the significant importance of agriculture in the above countries Ghana, Cameroon and Burkina Faso, gave great importance to agriculture by part taking in international trade negotiations or agreements on agriculture. These countries were involved more vigorously in the Uruguay Round where agricultural products were fully covered by multilateral trade rules for the first time. Farmers from Ghana, Cameroon and Burkina Faso are faced with so many challenges in exporting their agricultural products to world markets despite their participation in the agricultural trade reforms. They have restricted access to rich countries agricultural markets and they also face unfair competition in their own domestic markets from subsidised imports of food staples from wealthy countries. Other challenges such as: trade barriers, inadequate trade infrastructure (logistics and transportation), and inadequate institution serving farmers and agriculture and lack of technology to transform traditional agriculture are also of great importance. With regard to the above challenges faced by Ghana, Cameroon and Burkina Faso this research is to examine or analyse the impacts that international trade reforms have on the agricultural exports focusing on primary products (cash crops), such as cocoa, coffee and cotton which are a major source of export revenue for these countries and the livelihood basis for millions of rural households who grow these crops. The research will also look at the challenges faced by Ghana, Cameroon and Burkina Faso in exporting their agricultural products to developed countries‘ markets despite their participation in the international trade agreements on agriculture. Taking a look at the international trade reforms it can be seen that while the Uruguay Round will have a significant impact on global trade and economic welfare, its effect on the above countries‘ agricultural exports is expected to be much smaller, and if anything maybe negative. Ghana, Cameroon, Burkina Faso and most African countries are likely to gain slightly from tariff cuts and the elimination of non-tariff barriers on manufactured products. These countries will find themselves slightly worse off as a result of cuts to developed countries' subsidies to their agricultural exports, which tends to increase world food prices.

Magister Legum - LLM / Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) began as a worldwide phenomenon in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Even then, it formed only a small portion of foreign investments for decades, as a greater percentage took the form of portfolio investments. This was the case for example in 1914, when 90% of all foreign investment flows took the form of portfolio investment. Over time, however, there was a steady shift in the composition of foreign investments. In fact, about a quarter of foreign investment flows took the form of FDI in the 1920s. The drop in portfolio investments came about as a result of the collapse of the world monetary system in the 1930s, provoked by World War 1 and the Great Depression. There was, however, a general drop in the two types of investment during the interwar years. Unlike portfolio investment, FDI proved amazingly resilient and gradually recovered in the late 1930s. FDI again improved with the end of the Second World War, and became even more prominent after the 1960s in developing countries. This was not the case, however, which was yet to have its share of FDI flow. The main focus of this study is to investigate why Cameroon lags behind other developing countries in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) in terms of attracting FDI in spite of its membership of, and participation in, bilateral, regional and multilateral trade and investment treaties, and its attractive investment policies. The above argument applies explicitly to FDI because Regional Integration Agreements (RIAs) are said to boost FDI inflows from non-member countries. It is universally acknowledged that a well-designed policy framework for investment, capable of attracting FDI, would be productive and successful. Thus, for Cameroon to be competitive in attracting FDI, it is obliged to review its investment policies which continue to face the challenges of a changing global economy.

This work was carried out with the objective of improving dairy farms in Cameroon using an integrated method. Research done in the area on milk production in the country was reviewed. A participatory rural appraisal was conducted in dairy farms of the North West Region of Cameroon. An economic opportunity survey was carried out on 61 dairy farms in the same region. Interventions aimed at solving main constraints were planned. An on-farm study on the effect of feed supplementation before calving on milk production, ovarian activity and calf growth of Holstein, indigenous Red Fulani cows and their crosses was conducted. Corresponding blood samples were analyzed using ELISA Progesterone kits. Animal health studies involved screening for Brucella abortus antibodies in 21 villages by ELISA. Partial budgeting was used to evaluate the financial impact of interventions. Results show that five small scale dairy production systems are found in the region: transhumance, improved extensive, semi intensive, zero grazing and peri-urban. Main constraints to dairy production include in order of importance: poor marketing opportunities and long distances to market, limited grazing land and poor supplementation of cattle, limited health control, inadequate knowledge in processing, conservation and storage of milk, poor 19 reproductive management and prolonged calving interval, lack of water in the dry season, poor housing, poor organization of group, limited number of dairy cows and poor record keeping. Milk production per cow on-one-day and average calf production interval account for the greater part of economic opportunity. A human progesterone ELISA kit was validated for use in cattle. Brucella screening showed a general seroprevalence of 8.4%. It is recommended that infected cattle should be slaughtered. A specific control programme should be organized and an effort should be made to determine the causes of the spread of brucellosis. A regular Brucella testing should be instituted. Farmers adopting interventions had returns of 193 and 232% without and with opportunity costs proving the positive impact of interventions using the integrated method. These interventions need to be spread to more farms in the country. The integrated method was proven to be effective in ensuring improvement of dairy systems in Cameroon. This method needs to be adopted for further dairy production improvement by the creation of multidisciplinary intervention teams and the training of integrated intervention specialists in the dairy sector. Copyright 2009, University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. Please cite as follows: Bayemi Pougue, HD 2009, Improving the management of dairy production systems in Cameroon, PhD thesis, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, viewed yymmdd < http://upetd.up.ac.za/thesis/available/etd-etd-05252009-225140/ > D629/ag / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2009. / Animal and Wildlife Sciences / unrestricted

Magister Legum - LLM / This thesis compared the status of women's political participation in Cameroon and South Africa through an assessment conducted against the backdrop key of international, regional and national human rights standards. The aim of this thesis was not only, to be conscious of women's absence in politics, but to also take steps to redefine sound strategies to implement gender equality in terms of the political participation of women on the part of governments. / South Africa

Mount Cameroon is considered the only active volcano along a 1600 km long chain of volcanic complexes called the Cameroon Volcanic Line (CVL). It has erupted seven times during the last 100 years, the most recent was in May 2000. The approximately 500,000 inhabitants that live and work around the fertile flanks are exposed to impending threats from volcanic eruptions and earthquakes. In this thesis, a hazard assessment study that involves both statistical modelling of seismic hazard parameters and the evaluation of a future volcanic risk was undertaken on Mount Cameroon. The Gutenberg-Richter magnitude-frequency relations, the annual activity rate, the maximum magnitude, the rate of volcanic eruptions and risks assessment were examined. The seismic hazard parameters were estimated using the Maximum Likelihood Method on the basis of a procedure which combines seismic data containing incomplete files of large historical events with complete files of short periods of observations. A homogenous Poisson distribution model was applied to previous recorded volcanic eruptions of Mount Cameroon to determine the frequency of eruption and assess the probability of a future eruption. Frequency-magnitude plots indicated that Gutenberg-Richter b-values are partially dependent on the maximum regional magnitude and the method used in their calculation. b-values showed temporal and spatial variation with an average value of 1.53 ± 0.02. The intrusion of a magma body generating the occurrence of relatively small earthquakes as observed in our instrumental catalogue, could be responsible for this high anomalous b-value. An epicentre map of locally recorded earthquakes revealed that the southeastern zone is the most seismically active part of the volcano. The annual mean activity rate of the seismicity strongly depends on the time span of the seismic catalogue and results showed that on average, one earthquake event occurs every 10 days. The maximum regional magnitude values which had been determined from various approaches overlap when their standard deviations are taken into account. However, the magnitude distribution model of the Mt. Cameroon earthquakes might not follow the form of the Gutenberg-Richter frequency magnitude relationship. The datations of the last eruptive events that have occurred on Mt. Cameroon volcanic complex are presented. No specific pattern was observed on the frequency of eruptions, which means that a homogenous Poisson distribution provides a suitable model to estimate the rate of occurrence of volcanic eruptions and evaluate the risk of a future eruption. Two different approaches were used to estimate the mean eruption rate (λ) and both yielded a value of 0.074. The results showed that eruptions take place on average once every 13 years and, with the last eruption occurring over 15 years ago, it is considered that there is at present a high risk of an eruption to occur. / Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2016. / Geology / MSc / Unrestricted

Thesis (MTech (Entrepreneurship))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2020 / Often effectively excluded by formal financial systems, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in developing countries have found in Mobile Money services an efficient and cost effective means of availing themselves of financial services without holding bank accounts. In order to provide meaningful recommendations to the stakeholders of the banking sector of Cameroon, small and medium-sized enterprises, Mobile Money service providers, and relevant state organs, this study was conducted to investigate the influence of Mobile Money services on the financial performance of SMEs in two markets in Douala in Cameroon. A mixed methods research design was employed to conduct the study. The quantitative data was collected through the administration of a survey questionnaire and the qualitative data from one-on-one in-depth interviews. By means of snowball sampling, a sample of 285 SMEs was obtained to respond to the survey questionnaire, while the researcher used purposive sampling to select the owners or managing directors of twelve of the respondents to participate in the interviews. Version 25 of the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences software was used to analyse the quantitative data, while the qualitative data was subjected to thematic analysis. Correlation and regression analyses yielded that independent variables pertaining to the adoption of Mobile Money services by the respondents to the questionnaire predicted of the order of 73 percent of variance with respect to increased sales turnover. Most of the twelve interviewees perceived that their business operations had improved significantly after they had begun making and receiving payments in the form of Mobile Money transactions. The participants in the study used Mobile Money mainly to receive money, send money, and buy airtime and a significant majority perceived that Mobile Money services were more cost effective than those of banks. Convenience, safety, and accessibility were the attributes of Mobile Money which the participants cited as having provided their principal motivations for electing to register as users of Mobile Money services. It could be concluded that Mobile Money services exerted a significant positive influence on the financial performance of the SMEs of the participants in the study. On the basis of the conclusions which were drawn from the findings, recommendations were made to the owners of SMEs in Douala, the Ministry of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, Social Economy, and Handicrafts and Mobile Money service providers. The findings of the study underscore the role of Mobile Money services as an effective means of increasing financial inclusion and financial performance and could be useful to academics, owners and managers of SMEs, financial institutions in Cameroon and elsewhere, and also relevant policy makers.

Au Cameroun, la microfinance s’affirme désormais comme un élément fort capable d’améliorer l’offre et l’accès des services bancaires des couches sociales souvent exclues. C’est la raison pour laquelle, le législateur de la Communauté économique et monétaire de l’Afrique centrale (CEMAC) avait décidé de confectionner un régime juridique spécifique pour permettre à cette nouvelle technique de financement de s’installer et de se développer tout en assurant la fiabilité des acteurs et la maîtrise des opérations. En ce qui concerne sa dimension économique, la microfinance se positionne comme un instrument majeur capable d’œuvrer pour l’intégration de l’économie dite informelle à l’économie formelle. Or, il est désormais acquis que l’économie ne fonctionnera pas sans un droit économique spécifique. Ce droit économique dont l’appréhension apparaît si nécessaire s’est traduit par le droit de l’Organisation pour l’harmonisation en Afrique du droit des affaires (OHADA). Ainsi la microfinance a la particularité de combiner des instruments juridiques de nature différente entraînant l’application de régimes hétérogènes qui offrent d'inégales garanties. Les praticiens sont donc confrontés à une grande complexité qui favorise l’opacité et facilite certaines dérives. En ce sens cette étude vise à identifier les instruments par lesquels le droit intervient sur le fonctionnement global du secteur de la microfinance, ce qui devrait permettre de mieux confronter la théorie juridique avec sa pratique et ainsi faciliter leur mise en cohérence. Par ailleurs, il est possible de se demander si un droit commun de la microfinance ne pourrait pas être dégagé / In Cameroon, Microfinance is now established as a strong element able to improve offers and access to banking services to some part of the society often excluded. That is why the Community legislature of the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC) had decided to make a special legal regime to allow this new technique of funding to settle and grow while ensuring the reliability of actors and operation’s control. Regarding the economical aspect, the Cameroon’s government had positioned microfinance as a major tool able to work for the integration of the alleged informal economy to formal economy. However, it is now accepted that the economy will not function without a specific economic law. This economic law with the apprehension that appears so necessary has been converted by the right to the Organization for the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa (OHADA). Therefore, microfinance has the distinction of combining legal instruments of different nature leading to the applications of heterogeneous systems that offers unequal guarantees. The practitioners therefore face a complexity that promotes and facilitates some opacity drifts. In this sense, this study aims to identify the instruments by which the law operates in the overall functioning of the global microfinance sector, which should allow to better confront the legal theory with its practice and to facilitate their consistency. Furthermore, it is possible to consider whether a microfinance law might not be elaborated

The 28 March to 22 April 1999 eruption of Mount Cameroon volcano in southwest Cameroon occurred from multiple vents along fissures at two sites. Vents opened first at the upper site 1 (2650 m) and were more explosive than vents at the lower site 2 (1500 m), which were more effusive. Earthquakes, lava flows, tephra fall, ballistics and gas emissions affected the volcano's west and south flanks, including forests, plantations, stock animals, water supplies, coastal communities and their people. Through an analysis of existing published data and new interview data, we provide an overview of the environmental, social and economic consequences of these hazards on infrastructure, human health, and socio-economic and agricultural activities of the four coastal communities most affected by the eruption: Batoke, Bakingili, Debundscha and Idenau. The collected data provide a more detailed description of the short- and long-term direct and indirect effects of the eruption and response than has been provided to date. Sedimentation of tephra and ballistics from site 1 produced both short-term and long-lasting impacts on people, through the contamination of plants and water supplies, which induced impacts on human health and commercial activities. A ~9.2 km long lava flow erupted from site 2 received significant short-term attention as it severed the only arterial coastal highway, forced the evacuation of some 600 residents of Bakingili, and interrupted commerce between communities. The agricultural sector also suffered due to burning of crops and soils. The only obvious significant benefit of the eruption appears to be that the long lava flow has become a tourist attraction, responsible for bringing in money for food, drink and lodging. However, the long-term cascading effects caused by the hazards have proven to be more severe than the immediate direct and indirect effects during the eruption.

Mothers living with HIV (MLHIV) face complex challenges regarding infant feeding practices, which often restrict their ability to adhere to their chosen or medically recommended feeding behaviors. Mothers-in-law (MIL) enjoy significant influence and participate actively in the rearing of grandchildren in Cameroon. However, the extent to which MIL influence infant feeding behaviors of their daughters-in-law have not been studied. The theory of planned behavior (TPB) was used in this phenomenological study to explore how attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control influenced infant feeding practices of 9 MLHIV in rural communities of the North West Region of Cameroon. The five steps of data explicitation detailed by Groenewald were used to analyze the data. Findings indicated that MLHIV who were in close contact with their MIL experienced strong influence towards infant feeding practices of their babies. While MLHIV who were practicing exclusive breastfeeding received support for appropriate infant feeding practices, those giving their babies artificial milk were influenced to adopt inappropriate feeding practices, specifically mixed feeding. The study results may be used to promote positive social change by improving on the infant feeding practices of MLHIV. This could lead to a reduction of mother to child transmission of HIV.