Cameroon

===Education and health===
{{main|Education in Cameroon|Health in Cameroon}}
[[File:Cameroonian school children gather around U.S. Army Master Sgt. John Reid, center, for a group photo near Douala, Cameroon, March 19, 2014, during Central Accord 14 140319-A-PP104-039.jpg|thumb|School children in Cameroon]]
In 2013, the total adult [[literacy]] rate of Cameroon was estimated to be 71.3%. Among youths age 15–24 the literacy rate was 85.4% for males and 76.4% for females.<ref name=":0">{{cite news|url=https://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/cameroon_statistics.html|title=Statistics|work=UNICEF|access-date=4 February 2018|language=en-US|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171224101348/https://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/cameroon_statistics.html|archive-date=24 December 2017}}</ref> Most children have access to state-run schools that are cheaper than private and religious facilities.<ref name="Mbaku 15">[[#Mbaku|Mbaku]] 15.</ref> The educational system is a mixture of British and French precedents,<ref>[[#DeLancey|DeLancey and DeLancey]] 105–6.</ref> with most instruction in English or French.<ref>[[#Mbaku|Mbaku]] 16.</ref>

Cameroon has one of the highest school attendance rates in Africa.<ref name="Mbaku 15" /> Girls attend school less regularly than boys do because of cultural attitudes, domestic duties, early marriage, pregnancy, and sexual harassment. Although attendance rates are higher in the south,<ref name="Mbaku 15"/> a disproportionate number of teachers are stationed there, leaving northern schools chronically understaffed.<ref name="Human Rights Report"/> In 2013, the primary school enrollment rate was 93.5%.<ref name=":0" />

School attendance in Cameroon is also affected by [[child labour]]. Indeed, the [[United States Department of Labor]] Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor reported that 56% of children aged 5 to 14 were working children and that almost 53% of children aged 7 to 14 combined work and school.<ref>[http://www.dol.gov/ilab/reports/child-labor/cameroon.htm 2013 Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor -Cameroon] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150303052129/http://www.dol.gov/ilab/reports/child-labor/cameroon.htm |date=3 March 2015 }}. Dol.gov. Retrieved 29 June 2015.</ref> In December 2014, a ''[[List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor]]'' issued by the [[Bureau of International Labor Affairs]] mentioned Cameroon among the countries that resorted to child labor in the production of cocoa.<ref>[http://www.dol.gov/ilab/reports/child-labor/list-of-goods/ List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150610003351/http://www.dol.gov/ilab/reports/child-labor/list-of-goods/ |date=10 June 2015}}. Dol.gov. Retrieved 29 June 2015.</ref>

[[File:Life expectancy of Cameroon.svg|thumb|Life expectancy in Cameroon|upright=1.2]]

The quality of health care is generally low.<ref name = "yqheor">[[#DeLancey|DeLancey and DeLancey]] 21.</ref> Life expectancy at birth is estimated to be 56 years in 2012, with 48 healthy life years expected.<ref name=":1">{{cite web|url=https://www.who.int/gho/countries/cmr.pdf?ua=1|title=Cameroon: WHO Statistical Profile|date=January 2015|website=World Health Organization|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170321113025/http://www.who.int/gho/countries/cmr.pdf?ua=1|archive-date=21 March 2017}}</ref> Fertility rate remains high in Cameroon with an average of 4.8 births per woman and an average mother's age of 19.7 years old at first birth.<ref name=":1" /> In Cameroon, there is only one doctor for every 5,000 people, according to the World Health Organization.<ref>{{cite news|title=3 medical marvels saving lives|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2013/11/17/health/cnnheroes-medical-marvels/index.html|access-date=18 November 2013|newspaper=CNN|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131122034216/http://edition.cnn.com/2013/11/17/health/cnnheroes-medical-marvels/index.html|archive-date=22 November 2013}}</ref> In 2014, just 4.1% of total GDP expenditure was allocated to healthcare.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://data.un.org/CountryProfile.aspx?crName=cameroon|title=UNdata {{!}} country profile {{!}} Cameroon|website=data.un.org|access-date=4 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161104003329/http://data.un.org/CountryProfile.aspx?crName=cameroon|archive-date=4 November 2016}}</ref> Due to financial cuts in the health care system, there are few professionals. Doctors and nurses who were trained in Cameroon emigrate because in Cameroon the payment is poor while the workload is high. Nurses are unemployed even though their help is needed. Some of them help out voluntarily so they will not lose their skills.<ref>{{cite web |title=The need is so great |author=Rose Futrih N. Njini |publisher=D+C Development and Cooperation/ dandc.eu |date=December 2012 |url=http://www.dandc.eu/en/article/cameroon-too-many-nurses-and-doctors-lack-perspective |access-date=27 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130624235243/http://www.dandc.eu/en/article/cameroon-too-many-nurses-and-doctors-lack-perspective |archive-date=24 June 2013}}</ref> Outside the major cities, facilities are often dirty and poorly equipped.<ref name="West 64">[[#West|West]] 64.</ref>

In 2012, the top three deadly diseases were [[HIV/AIDS]], [[lower respiratory tract infection]], and [[diarrhea]]l diseases.<ref name=":1" /> Endemic diseases include [[dengue fever]], [[filariasis]], [[leishmaniasis]], [[malaria]], [[meningitis]], [[schistosomiasis]], and [[African trypanosomiasis|sleeping sickness]].<ref>[[#West|West]] 58–60.</ref> The [[HIV]]/[[HIV/AIDS|AIDS]] prevalence rate in 2016 was estimated at 3.8% for those aged 15–49,<ref name=":2">{{cite web|url=http://www.unaids.org/en/regionscountries/countries/cameroon|title=Cameroon|website=www.unaids.org|access-date=4 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171223042316/http://www.unaids.org/en/regionscountries/countries/cameroon|archive-date=23 December 2017}}</ref> although a strong stigma against the illness keeps the number of reported cases artificially low.<ref name = "yqheor"/> 46,000 children under age 14 were estimated to be living with HIV in 2016. In Cameroon, 58% of those living with HIV know their status, and just 37% receive [[Management of HIV/AIDS|ARV]] treatment. In 2016, 29,000 deaths due to AIDS occurred in both adults and children.<ref name=":2" />

[[Breast ironing]], a traditional practice that is prevalent in Cameroon, may affect girls' health.<ref>Joe, Randy. (23 June 2006) [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/5107360.stm Africa | Cameroon girls battle 'breast ironing'] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070211233459/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/5107360.stm |date=11 February 2007}}. BBC News. Retrieved 29 June 2015.</ref><ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01pgpzf BBC World Service – Outlook, Fighting 'Breast Ironing' in Cameroon] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140120111044/http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01pgpzf |date=20 January 2014}}. Bbc.co.uk (16 January 2014). Retrieved 29 June 2015.</ref><ref>[http://www.channel4.com/news/breast-ironing-fgm-victim-girls-chest-cameroon-uk Campaigners warn of 'breast ironing' in the UK – Channel 4 News] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140820113942/http://www.channel4.com/news/breast-ironing-fgm-victim-girls-chest-cameroon-uk |date=20 August 2014 }}. Channel4.com (18 April 2014). Retrieved 29 June 2015.</ref><ref>Bawe, Rosaline Ngunshi (24 August 2011) [http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/HRBodies/CEDAW/HarmfulPractices/GenderEmpowermentandDevelopment.pdf Breast Ironing: A harmful traditional practice in Cameroon] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150226024853/http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/HRBodies/CEDAW/HarmfulPractices/GenderEmpowermentandDevelopment.pdf |date=26 February 2015}}. Gender Empowerment and Development(GeED)</ref> [[Female genital mutilation]] (FGM), while not widespread, is practised among some populations; according to a 2013 UNICEF report,<ref name="UNICEF2013p27">[http://www.unicef.org/media/files/FGCM_Lo_res.pdf UNICEF 2013] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150405083031/http://www.unicef.org/media/files/FGCM_Lo_res.pdf |date=5 April 2015 }}, p. 27.</ref> 1% of women in Cameroon have undergone FGM. Also impacting women and girls' health, the contraceptive prevalence rate is estimated to be just 34.4% in 2014. [[Traditional medicine|Traditional healers]] remain a popular alternative to [[evidence-based medicine]].<ref name="Lantum" />
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