Epidemiological Intelligence Project: Cameroon

Epidemiological Intelligence Project: Cameroon

Introduction

This paper aims to discuss the country of Cameroon in detail. The country of Cameroon is situated in on the Gulf of Guinea, Central Africa. The countries that form the borders of Cameroon are bordered by the Central African Republic, Chad, Gabon, Nigeria, the Republic of Congo, and Equatorial Guinea. Yaounde is Cameroon's capital. The area of Cameroon is approximately 184,000 square miles, a bit larger than the area covered by the state of California. The country is rich in demonstrating all important terrains such rain deserts, mountains, forests, coastal areas and grasslands. The climate differs to a large extent due to the landscape. This is because the country is tropical along its coastline, whereas towards the north, it is semiarid and hot (World Health Organization, 2012).

The World Health Organization reports that the total population of Cameroon is 19,599,000. This population comprises of various ethnicities such as the Cameroon Highlanders 31%, Kirdi 11%, Eqautorial Bantu 19%, Northwestern Bantu 8%, Fulani 10%, other African ethnicities 13%, and Eastern Nigritic 7%. Less than only 1% of the population are non-Africans (CIA). English and French remain the official languages, however, 24 other African dialects are also present. In religious beliefs, there is a variety in the number of people belonging to different religions such as Christians, Muslims, and native beliefs (World Health Organization, 2012).

Cameroon was formed in 1961 through the amalgamation of two previous colonies. These two countries were governed by the British and the French. The formation of Cameroon was not an easy task, and there was a lot of bloodshed and violence as a result of revolts that were repressed significantly with assistance from the French forces (Central Intelligence Agency). For a period of 20 years, the President of Cameroon, Ahmadou Ahidjo ruled the country under repressive government. Later on Cameroon developed in areas of agriculture, health care and education sector and transportation. Paul Biya, the Prime Minister succeeded the President in 1982. Because there was immense contentment, the Prime Minister had to allow for Presidential elections based on many parties in 1992, and he won in them. Now the President of Cameroon is Paul Biya (Central Intelligence Agency).



Research and development

The Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research of Cameroon is responsible for the regulation of Research and Development and for boosting innovation. The most important institution formed in this context is the Cameroon Academy of Sciences (CAS), which was established in 1991, and is a scientific institution providing scientific amenities to support and give rise to research and development actions in the country.

The CAS forms the basis for the scientific technology inventions and innovations, and accounts for the availability of scientific research to the concerned authorities, such as policy makers, health care professionals, and decision makers (World Health Organization, 2012). These groups influence the decisions that revolve around investments and opportunities in the field of science and technology, thus instigating the use of scientific methods and empirical research for the improvisation ...