Building Safety Nets for the Most Vulnerable

Posted on June 6th, 2025

In Cameroon today, access to social protection is a matter of survival. For the farmer displaced from the Northwest crisis who now sells roasted maize by the roadside in Yaoundé, or the widow in Douala working as a domestic helper without a contract, life is lived without safety nets. A single illness, eviction, or school fee can push families into cycles of poverty that are nearly impossible to escape.

This reality highlights why WIHD’s Social Protection Program exists—to push for systems that protect informal workers, displaced families, persons with disabilities, and those struggling with mental health. Our work aims not only to fill immediate gaps but also to influence long-term reforms that make inclusion a national priority.

How We Approach Social Protection in Cameroon

1. Policy Advocacy Rooted in Evidence

Cameroon has some social protection policies on paper, but they rarely reach the displaced and informal workforce that forms over 50% of the economy. For example, street vendors in Bamenda, moto-taxi riders in Buea, and market women in Yaoundé are excluded from pension schemes and health insurance. WIHD gathers community data and case studies to highlight these gaps. Our goal is to ensure that displaced and informal workers are formally recognized as contributors to the economy and therefore included in national schemes such as social safety nets.

2. Building Local and National Partnerships

We know solutions cannot come from NGOs alone. WIHD seeks and forge partnership with local councils, labor unions, churches, and women’s cooperatives to create community-driven safety nets. For example, in the Littoral region, we are working with market associations to test community-based health insurance groups where traders contribute small amounts into a pooled fund that covers emergency medical needs. These grassroots models can be scaled up through partnerships with government and development agencies.

3. Raising Awareness and Changing Perceptions

One of the challenges in Cameroon is that many vulnerable groups, especially people with disabilities and those with trauma from displacement, are seen as “burdens.” WIHD’s recent campaigns focus on changing this narrative. In schools, churches, and on other programs, to amplify the message that social protection is not charity but a right. By training community leaders, especially in crisis-hit regions, we hope to be able to ensure families know where to seek support and how to demand accountability from local institutions.

4. Providing Holistic, Context-Specific Support

Our interventions go beyond awareness—they respond to real needs. In the Yaounde, we support women displaced by attacks to access microfinance and start micro livestock businesses, we link survivors of violence to psychosocial services and legal aid and organize vocational trainings. Each of these actions combines financial, health-related and psychosocial support to ensure families are not only surviving but also rebuilding with dignity.

Why It Matters for Cameroon

Without inclusive social protection, Cameroon risks deepening cycles of poverty, inequality, and instability. But when people have access to income security, healthcare, and psychosocial support, entire communities benefit. Children stay in school, households avoid catastrophic debt, and vulnerable groups contribute more productively to society.

At WIHD, we believe inclusive social protection is both a moral responsibility and a pathway to national resilience. For us, where displacement and informal work are daily realities, building strong safety nets means building a stronger future for all.