In Cameroon, the GRB experience is still at the awareness-raising stage, although there is enthusiasm to take things further. In March 2004, the Ministère de la Promotion de la Femme et la Famille (MINPROFF), with UN Women assistance, launched a programme of awareness-raising seminars for actors including government agencies, the national parliament, local government, civil society organisations and the private sector. Subsequent years have seen further seminars, as well as other actors besides MINPROFF and UN Women initiating action. Awareness raising has also been extended to members involved in the ongoing public finance reform as well as to donor agencies such as the Canadian International Development Agency.
The awareness raising has had at least one concrete result in terms of budget allocations in that the Ministry of Commerce has included a line item for support for women informal cross-border traders (WICBT) in its budget for 2008. Another allocation to support WICBT has been made within the 2009 budget and discussions are underway in respect of a permanent budget line to be created for this purpose. Another UN Women project, with a specific focus on women informal crossborder traders, will have contributed to this achievement.
Another interesting development has been efforts by UN Women and the EC to raise question as to how interventions in relation to transport infrastructure – a major investment area for the EC – benefit women in terms of those employed and their remuneration, direct beneficiaries and those indirectly affected by positive and negative externalities.
(UN Women’s work builds on the extensive support and programming carried out by UNIFEM during the period 2001-2010.)
To read more on the GRB work in Cameroon click here (page 31-33)