sold 60 tons of cocoa beans for CFA5,035 per kilogram bringing in over CFA300 million in total revenue This sale was made possible through Ofi Cameroon a major player in the country’s cocoa industry which now accounts for more than 20% of Cameroon’s total cocoa exports The sale was overseen by local authorities and the National Cocoa and Coffee Office (ONCC) as part of a group sale initiative designed to help farmers better organize their marketing efforts The price achieved in Abong-Mbang is slightly higher than the CFA5,000 per kilogram that farmers in Biakoa received for their cocoa in a similar operation earlier in January 2025 despite this small price increase during the 2024-2025 cocoa season the prices remain lower than the record levels seen in the previous season cocoa prices reached an unprecedented global high of over CFA6,000 per kilogram The price surge during the 2023-2024 season helped Cameroon generate a record export revenue of CFA488.8 billion a rise of CFA220 billion compared to the previous year Although the current prices are lower than last year's record highs helping to improve their income during this season The liberalization of the cocoa market in Cameroon has played a crucial role in this trend the country has seen an increase in the number of commercial players boosting competition and driving up prices for farmers the Cameroonian government has officially allowed group cocoa sales based on reference prices published by ONCC which oversees quality control and exports This system allows farmers to sell their cocoa through groups negotiating directly with multinational companies or local processors Kribi Bitumen Plant Set to Start Construction in 2025 with Government Backing CEMAC Bond Market Hits CFA 8.45 Trillion in March 2025, Interest Rates Drop Cameroon’s Timber Output Projected to Rise in 2025 Despite Higher Export Taxes Central Africa Stock Exchange Sees 98% Drop in Trading Value in Q1 2025 Every week the economy and investment news from Cameroon Mboa Paris Trains 30 Young Cameroonians to Boost Tech and Entrepreneurship Cameroon Audit Targets Former Officials for Mismanagement in Agricultural Project Camwater Seeks Global Bids to Launch Bottled Water Lines in Five Cities Bafoussam Workshop Highlights Benefits of Cameroon-EU Trade Agreement Cameroon Could Reach 350,100 Tons of Cotton in 2025 (Beac) Paul Biya Appoints Johnny Razack as Chair of Cameroon’s National Investment Company Cameroon Refuses Work Visa Renewal for Casino and Super U Boss Over Toxic Workplace Claims Cameroon Joins Global Charter to Fight Illegal Fishing Metrics details The white-bellied pangolin is subject to intense trafficking feeding both local and international trade networks In order to assess its population genetics and trace its domestic trade we genotyped 562 pangolins from local to large bushmeat markets in western central Africa We show that the two lineages described from the study region (WCA and Gab) were overlapping in ranges with limited introgression in southern Cameroon There was a lack of genetic differentiation across WCA and a significant signature of isolation-by-distance possibly due to unsuspected dispersal capacities involving a Wahlund effect 74.1–82.5% decline in the effective population size of WCA during the Middle Holocene Private allele frequency tracing approach indicated up to 600 km sourcing distance by large urban markets from Cameroon The 20 species-specific microsatellite loci provided individual-level genotyping resolution and should be considered as valuable resources for future forensic applications Because admixture was detected between lineages we recommend a multi-locus approach for tracing the pangolin trade The Yaoundé market was the main hub of the trade in the region and thus should receive specific monitoring to mitigate pangolins’ domestic trafficking Our study also highlighted the weak implementation of CITES regulations at European borders we propose to build on recently developed genetic resources to investigate both maternal and bi-parental population genetic signatures in WBP from the subregion Our specific objectives were to (i) assess the population structure and genetic diversity of WBP from Cameroon (ii) characterize their demographic history and current effective population size and (iii) trace the scale of the sub-regional WBP trade Reassessed distribution of the Western Central Africa and Gabon mitochondrial lineages in white-bellied pangolins. Lineage assignment was based on NJ tree clustering (see Results and Supplementary Fig. S2) Red = Western Central Africa lineage; Blue = Gabon lineage; Purple = sites were the two lineages co-occur Based on mismatch analysis, the hypotheses of spatial and sudden demographic expansions could not be rejected (P(Sim. Rag. ≥ Obs. Rag.) = 0.559 and P(Sim. Rag. ≥ Obs. Rag.) = 0.424 for WCA (see Supplementary Fig. S6 online) Bayesian skyline plots showed a c. 22-fold increase in the median effective population size of WCA from Ne0 = c. 1900 (HPD 95% = c. 750 − 4200) to Ne1 = c. 41,500 (HPD 95% = c. 11,000 − 206,000), abruptly starting c. 275 kya (Fig. 2). Bayesian skyline plots showing the demographic history of white-bellied pangolins from the Western Central Africa lineage Y-axis = Effective population size (Ne); X-axis = Time in years before present No linkage disequilibrium between pairs of loci could be identified Numbers of private alleles were the greatest for Gabon (15) and Sangmelima (11) when the urban bushmeat markets from Yaoundé and Douala were not included Yaoundé showed the highest number of private alleles (42) Observed frequencies of private alleles as extracted from ADZE were the greatest for Gabon (0.922–0.932) whether urban bushmeat markets were included or not Frequencies of private alleles were low for the Douala (0.111) and Yaoundé (0.141) markets The PCoA did not show any clear structuring of the genetic space within WBP from WCA and Gab (Supplementary Figure S7 online) Assignment plots among individuals of white-bellied pangolins from western central Africa as obtained with STRUCTURE (left) and most likely number of population clusters (K = 2) following the ɅK method (right) Each individual is represented by a vertical bar A- including all the samples from urban markets seizures and reference populations (N = 558) sorted according to their mtDNA-based lineage assignment (WCA vs Gab); asterisks indicate cyto-nuclear hybrids; X is an admixed individual (> 20% of genomic ancestry shared with Gab) B- only retaining the samples from 10 reference populations (N = 181); M = cluster from Medouneu (northern Gabon) Assignment of individuals to populations among the best five runs was greatly unstable (data not shown) FST values were significantly different (p ≤ 0.001) between all WCA populations and Gab (from 0.184 to 0.225; Table S5) Pairwise differentiation between WCA populations was low ranging from 0.006 (PNCM–Sangmelima) to 0.048 (Bayomen–Southern Equatorial Guinea) We detected a significant IBD pattern among WBP individuals across the studied range (r = 0.099, p = 0.001), whereas there was no significant effect among populations (r = 0.298, p = 0.094; Supplementary Fig. S11 online) We detected a significant signal of bottleneck in WCA with the S.M.M model (Wilcoxon sign-rank test; p < 0.05) The assessment of the historical demography of WCA with VarEff showed that effective population size (Ne) drastically declined –regardless of the models– over the last c. 9,840–6,140 years (4920–3070 generations; Fig. 4). Harmonic means estimated a 74.1–82.5% Ne reduction, from 7773–13,826 (ancestral Ne) to 2,311–5,027 (contemporaneous Ne). Temporal change in effective population size (Ne) of white-bellied pangolins from Western Central Africa as estimated using VarEff under three different mutation models Harmonic means (black line) and kernel density (color scale) of Ne posterior distributions are given in years BP Chord diagram tracing the geographic origin of white-bellied pangolins from urban bushmeat markets and seizures GES = South of Equatorial Guinea; R1 = Douala Dacat market; R2 = Douala Central market; R3 = Yaoundé Nkolndongo market; R4 = Seizures at Brussels airport The involved market stakeholder indicated that the two pangolins originated from the Lomié forest (c thus suggesting that the Gab lineage naturally occurs in Cameroon because the three mtDNA-assigned Gab individuals from Cameroon were cyto-nuclear hybrids (i.e. assigned to the WCA cluster using microsatellites) ancient gene flow between the two lineages might be involved and is blurring their geographic delineation notably in their supposed range of co-occurrence All the more since an admixed individual from Yokadouma provides evidence for ongoing (but probably limited) introgression between the two lineages Further sampling in forests from southern Cameroon and northern Gabon will have to be conducted in order to achieve a more comprehensive picture of the respective ranges of the WCA and Gab genetic entities genetic structuring and differentiation within WCA was weak Structure was the only analysis capable of detecting population clusters using the available signal of geographic structuring based on prior delineation of populations (r < 1; data not shown) the two ‘pure’ genetic clusters did not correspond to anything coherent in space with a first cluster located strictly south of the Sanaga river (PNCM + Abong Mbang + Sangmelima) and the other spread on both sides of the river (Bayomen [north] vs while the admixed individuals were also present north and south of the river (Manengole and Mt Cam [north] vs The refugium hypothesis is also challenged by the presence of Medouneu-related individuals (pure or admixed) further north in southern Cameroon (Sangmelima) suggesting a more extended range for this population that of a surviving population endemic to the island both from bushmeat markets and field sites will have to be conducted in order to assess the status of WBP on the island an urgent matter of conservation as island populations are often subject to rapid genetic drift accumulation of deleterious variants and inbreeding we cannot discard the fact that some unknown breeding strategy of the species could participate to this Wahlund effect 74.10–82.5% of the effective population size) places the effective populations size of WBP from WCA (2161 ± 219) within the conservative threshold range of minimum viable population size (500–5000) Because viable population size levels are paramount to maintaining acceptable levels of genetic diversity it will be important to create or maintain forest corridors among WBP populations and mitigate deforestation and illegal hunting activities in order to preserve the genetic diversity levels of pangolin populations from the study region but at the same time showing the usefulness of our markers to counter such sampling bias Our study provides an unprecedented assessment of the genetic status of WBP from western central Africa Combining mtDNA sequencing and microsatellites genotyping of several hundreds of pangolins we identified range overlap between the WCA and Gab mitochondrial lineages with limited introgression in southern Cameroon so the two lineages can still be considered separate evolutionary units Further sampling and sequencing efforts –particularly through high-throughput sequencing approaches– will have to be conducted across the study region notably in Gabon where the number of genetic samples was low in order to assess more accurately the admixture pattern between WCA and Gab and geographic structuring within WCA sampling will have to be oriented towards forest sites in order to minimize the potential bias of inaccurate sourcing radius of the local markets herein used as reference populations (notably relative to a potentially artifactual Wahlund effect) Such refined data will be crucial to establish a genetic-based management unit delineation strategy for guiding the conservation of WBP in the study region new knowledge on the dispersal and breeding behavior of WBP it will be important in the future to rely on a global reference database where all the WBP lineages will have been genotyped better sensitization of range-state wildlife management services and foreign customs agencies to the regional and global trade of WBP should help prioritizing the conservation of the species tissue (muscle) and tongue taken from dead animals samples were taken beneath the tissue surface so to prevent any potential exogenous contamination A series of 12 samples were also collected from seized luggage originating from Cameroonian flights at Roissy (Paris Genomic DNA extraction was performed using the NucleoSpin® Tissue Kit (Macherey–Nagel Final elution step was repeated twice in 50 µl elution buffer to increase DNA yield DNA concentration was quantified using the NanoDrop 1000 Spectrophotometer (ThermoFisher Scientific All the sequences produced in this study were deposited in Genbank under accession numbers OP524750–OP525226 Node support was assessed through 500 bootstrap replicates Based on the new cyt b sequences that we produced, we reassessed the levels of genetic variation in WCA and Gab, after removing sequences with missing data (remaining N = 563). We used DnaSP v6.12 to compute number of polymorphic sites (S), haplotype number (h), haplotype diversity (Hd) and nucleotide diversity (π) (Supplementary Table S2 online) We mapped the geographic distribution of WCA and Gab haplotypes using ArcGIS 10.1 (Esri France) We ran Network v10.2.0.0 to build a median-joining haplotype network with ε = 0 so to minimize the presence of alternative median networks Because of the low number of samples attributed to Gab (N = 11; see Results) we explored the demographic history of WCA only (N = 552) We performed mismatch analysis using Arlequin 3.5.2 to test for signatures of demographic and spatial expansions by calculating the sum of squared deviations (SSD) between observed and expected distributions using 1,000 bootstrap replicates The Bonferroni correction was applied to null hypothesis testing in those three analyses Genetic diversity was assessed through the number of alleles (Na) expected (He) and unbiased expected (uHe) heterozygosity (in GenAlEx) allelic richness (AR) and deficit of heterozygotes (FIS) (in FSTAT) Global genetic variance among all genotyped individuals was assessed through pairwise population matrix unbiased genetic distances and was visualized in GenAlEx using Principal Coordinates Analysis (PCoA) we fixed the number of estimated populations to K = 10–13 after the results of the first analysis [highest mean posterior densities for: K = 10 (0.21) and performed 20 independent runs with the same parameters the stability of individual assignment to populations was assessed among the best five runs (i.e We used 500 × 500 pixels to map the posterior probabilities of population membership Significant differentiation values (P ≤ 0.05) were estimated using 105 MCMC iteration chains and 10,000 dememorization steps The significance of the correlation (r) between individual-based genetic (Edward’s) and geographic (Euclidean) distances was estimated through 10,000 permutations Because the original scheme of 10 populations yielded the greatest inferred values of paf (data not shown) we graphed the paf rarefaction curves (sample size rarefied from 2 to 5 5 being the lowest number of individuals among populations) for each locus in these 10 populations Only loci for which paf were > 40% and reached a plateau or showed an increasing trend at N = 5 for a given population were considered as potentially useful for tracing the origin of WBP found in the urban markets We then cross-filtered these results with the private alleles observed in the actual populations (using GenAlEx) and eventually retained the loci that showed both high potential for tracing (ADZE output) and observed private alleles (GenAlEx output) for the given populations we manually screened the private alleles present in WBP sampled from the Cameroonian large urban markets (Douala and Yaoundé) and international seizures to trace their geographical origins We applied the Wilcoxon sign-rank test to estimate heterozygote excess/deficit using 10,000 replications We ran the analysis with three mutation models (single The first 10,000 batches were discarded as burnin The sequence data obtained in this study have been deposited at GenBank of NCBI at OP524750–OP525226 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/) We confirm that this work is original and has not been published elsewhere We declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper Impacts of wildlife trade on terrestrial biodiversity International trade and trafficking in pangolins The global trafficking of pangolins: a comprehensive summary of seizures and trafficking routes from 2010–2015 A timely systematic review on pangolin research and popularization to identify knowledge gaps and produce conservation guidelines Implementation of CITES decisions 17.239 b) and 17.240 on pangolins Hoffmann, R. & Challender, D. W. S. Conservation strategies and priority actions for pangolins. In Pangolins 531–535 (eds Challender, D. W. S. et al.) (Academic Press, New York, 2020). https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-815507-3.00033-2 Ethnozoological and commercial drivers of the pangolin trade in Benin Characterising trafficking and trade of pangolins in the Gulf of Guinea Genetic identification of African pangolins and their origin in illegal trade Hunting and sale of pangolins accros sub-saharan Africa: a preliminary analysis Assessing Africa-wide pangolin exploitation by scaling local data COVID-19: time to exonerate the pangolin from the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 to humans Market characteristics and zoonotic disease risk perception in Cameroon Bushmeat markets DNA-typing improves illegal wildlife trade surveys: Tracing the Cameroonian bushmeat trade International wildlife trafficking: A perspective on the challenges and potential forensic genetics solutions Kotze, A. et al. 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(Academic Press, New York, 2020). https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-815507-3.00020-4 Comments to “The complete mitochondrial genome of Temminck’s ground pangolin (Smutsia temminckii; Smuts 1832) and phylogenetic position of the Pholidota (Weber A truer measure of the market: The molecular ecology of fisheries and wildlife trade International CITES trade in pangolin species Phylogeography of the heavily poached African common pangolin (Pholidota Manis tricuspis) reveals six cryptic lineages as traceable signatures of Pleistocene diversification Development and characterization of 20 polymorphic microsatellite markers for the white-bellied pangolin Phataginus tricuspis (Mammalia Can DNA help trace the local trade of pangolins Conservation genetics of white-bellied pangolins from the Dahomey Gap (West Africa) Genomic analyses reveal poaching hotspots and illegal trade in pangolins from Africa to Asia Feeding Asian pangolins: An assessment of current diets fed in institutions worldwide Continued availability and sale of pangolins in a major urban bushmeat market in Cameroon despite national bans and the COVID-19 outbreak Conservation genomics reveals possible illegal trade routes and admixture across pangolin lineages in Southeast Asia Urban wild meat markets in Cameroon: actors and motives The African rain forest - main characteristics of changes in vegetation and climate from the Upper Cretaceous to the Quaternary Assessing population structure in the face of isolation by distance: are we neglecting the problem? 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Documentation for structure software: version 2.3. http://pritch.bsd.uchicago.edu/structure.html (2009) Inferring weak population structure with the assistance of sample group information Detecting the number of clusters of individuals using the software STRUCTURE: A simulation study Geneland: A computer package for landscape genetics Genetic structure is influenced by landscape features: Empirical evidence from a roe deer population Arlequin suite ver 3.5: A new series of programs to perform population genetics analyses under Linux and Windows APE: analyses of phylogenetics and evolution in R language Poppr: An R package for genetic analysis of populations with clonal gimlet: A computer program for analysing genetic individual identification data ADZE: A rarefaction approach for counting alleles private to combinations of populations Bottleneck: A program for detecting recent effective population size reductions from allele data frequencies Estimation of effective population size and variation in the time scale Evolutionary dynamics of microsatellite DNA Download references We are grateful to the Ministère de la Recherche Scientifique et de l’Innovation for providing the research permit (000094/MINRESI/B00/C00/C10/nye) We thank the staff of the “Plateau technique–Biologie moléculaire et microbiologie” at EDB for assistance during lab work We thank Franklin and Jean for their help during field work The local hunters and vendors gently provided us with the necessary tissue samples by free consent Cervantes (Institut de Recherche Criminelle de la Gendarmerie Nationale France) for giving us access to the samples seized at Roissy airport (France) SA and PG received support from the Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR-17-CE02-0001; PANGO-GO) ADD and PG were also supported by the Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT IC&DT 02/SAICT/2017–n° 032130; BUSHRISK) ADD received a grant « Séjours scientifiques de haut niveau » (No 968962A) from the Service de Coopération et d’Action Culturelle (SCAC) of the Ambassade de France in Cameroon We thank three anonymous reviewers for greatly improving the initial version of the draft Laboratory of Biology and Physiology of Animal Organisms Centre de Recherche sur la Biodiversité et l’Environnement (CRBE) Université Toulouse 3 – Paul Sabatier (UT3) Laboratoire de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire (LABMC) Université des Sciences et Techniques de Masuku Centro Interdisciplinar de Investigação Marinha e Ambiental (CIIMAR) Institut de Recherche en Ecologie Tropicale SA and PG conducted the molecular laboratory work; ADD SA and PG analyzed the data; ADD and PG led the writing; ADM SN and ALC read and revised the drafted work All the co-authors have read and approved the final version of the manuscript The authors declare no competing interests Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations Download citation DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-63666-9 Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content: a shareable link is not currently available for this article Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science Metrics details often fatal illness in humans and nonhuman primates caused by the Ebola virus The recently approved rVSV-EBOV vaccine is not available in many high-risk countries hence prevention is paramount The design of effective prevention interventions requires an understanding of the factors that expose communities at risk It was based on this that we investigated the Baka community of Abong-Mbang Health District in tropical rain forest of Cameroon A cross-sectional study was conducted with participants randomly selected from 13 villages in Abong-Mbang by multi-stage cluster sampling A questionnaire was administered to them to collect demographic information their feeding and health-seeking behaviour Data was analyzed using the chi-square test Knowledge of EVD was assessed using an 8 item Morisky Scale An adapted Threat Capability Basic Risk Assessment Guide was used to determine their risk of exposure to infection Although 83.3% participants had heard of EVD Their source of information was mainly informal discussions in the community (49%) Misconceptions were identified with regards to the cause and mode of transmission Only 43.1% accepted EVD could be transmitted from human-to-human Demographic factors such as level of education occupation and ethnic group significantly affected knowledge of EVD The majority of participants were at a very high risk of exposure to infection as they consumed various forms of bush meat and were involved in other risky practices such as scarification and touching of corpses Although over half of participants seek medical care most of them preferred traditional medicine Socio-cultural and service-related factors were deterrent factors to medical care Participants generally had poor knowledge of EVD and were at high risk of infection We recommend rigorous sensitization campaigns in the study area to educate the population on EVD and clarify the misconceptions identified EVD surveillance is recommended particularly as outbreaks have often been reported in the Congo Basin A larger investment is needed for containing rather than preventing an Ebola virus disease outbreak; prevention is therefore preferable to containment in areas at risk such as the rainforest of Cameroon For prevention to be effective there is need for data to guide the design of health promotion interventions It was against this background that we assessed the risk of exposure of the Baka community of Abong-Mbang Health District South Eastern Cameroon to Ebola virus infection by investigating their knowledge of EVD and practices that could expose them to infection The study population comprised of the Baka community of Abong-Mbang Health District This community is made up of 24 villages: Ampele Plateau and Sombou; inhabited by two ethnic groups A few Bantu people reside in the study area where they carryout mainly subsistence farming Individuals aged ≥18 years who have resided for at least 5 years in the Baka community of Abong-Mbang Health District and who granted consent to participate in the study were recruited were < 18 years old or had lived in the community for less than 5 years were excluded A multi-stage cluster sampling technique was used Of the 24 villages of the Baka community 13 were randomly selected household heads or their representatives were recruited by systematic random sampling The minimum sample size was estimated using a single population proportion formula: n= \( \frac{\mathrm{Z}2\ \mathrm{P}\left(1-\mathrm{P}\right)}{\mathrm{d}2.} \) Since there has been no similar study in Cameroon the following assumptions were made: 95% (Z = 1.96) confidence level Therefore n= \( \frac{(1.96)(1.96)\mathrm{X}\ 0.5\left(1-0.5\right)}{(0.05)(0.05)}=499.41 \) This was rounded up to 500 and 10 added to make up for non-responses giving a total sample size of 510 participants Data was collected by trained research assistants using a pre-tested semi-structured questionnaire (Supplementary File 1) adapted from the risk factors involved in the Health Promotion Theory and then developed according to the objectives of the study The questionnaire was divided into four sections: demographics an assessment of participants’ knowledge of Ebola and health seeking behavior as contributory factors to exposure to Ebola cleaned and analyzed using SPSS version 20.0 The relationship between the study outcome and the independent variable was analyzed using the Chi-square test An adapted 8 item Morisky Scale was used to assess respondents’ level of knowledge of symptoms and transmission of Ebola Participants who could list 4–8 correct manifestations or routes of transmission were considered to have good knowledge; those with 2–3 correct manifestations had fair knowledge and those who had one or none correct had poor knowledge Participants’ knowledge of EVD (a) Sources of information of study participants (b) Opinion on causes of EVD; (c) Modes of Transmission(d) Manifestations encountered by participants (e) Level of knowledge of means of EVD Transmission (f) Level of knowledge of manifestations of Ebola Feeding behaviour of participants: (a) Risk of exposure of participants to Ebola virus infection (b) State of meat consumed (c) Source of meat (d) Person preparing the meat Health seeking behaviour of participants (a) Treatment preferences of study participants (b) Reasons for scarification (c) Reasons for not seeking medical care in the health facility (d) Distance to health facility from place of residence The attitude of health personnel towards respondents and the functionality of the health facility were also discouraging factors to seeking medical treatment Participants reported they were at times ignored by health staff because of their social and poverty status the intrusive nature of health staff towards these individuals was a potential contribution to them not seeking medical treatment the health center had not been functional for the 3–4 years prior to this study due to lack of equipment and staff To minimize the chances of an outbreak in areas at risk such as the Baka community knowledge of factors that could predispose inhabitants to infection is necessary WHO aims to prevent Ebola outbreaks by maintaining surveillance for EVD and supporting at-risk countries to develop preparedness plan Prevention can only be successful following an understanding of potential risk factors as this will be useful to develop intervention measures targeting communities at risk It was against this background that this study was carried out in the Baka community participants learned of the disease mainly from discussions in the community Health talk was reported by a very small proportion (3%) of participants This is disturbing as informal discussions in a community with such a low level of education as observed in the Baka community could have far reaching consequences as wrong information could be circulated and in the event of an outbreak of EVD such information may contribute to more exposures to infection Proper education of inhabitants of the Baka community through health talk is therefore very important Radio signals are widely captured in the study area explaining why radio was another main source of information Those who had heard about Ebola through television were individuals who had visited the urban areas as television signals were poor in the villages studied fever and vomiting were reported by most of our participants Evaluating the level of knowledge of symptoms This indicates the need for an intensive sensitization campaign in the study area particularly as EVD has often been reported in some countries in the Congo Basin Proper education of inhabitants in an area at risk such as the Baka community through health talks is very important as these are given by individuals who are well informed about the disease Among participants who had heard of Ebola slightly more than half reported they knew the cause of the disease of which less than one-third stated a virus as the cause This is not surprising because with the low level of education of participants they could easily remember the factors that facilitate transmission such as animal or dead animal instead of the virus as the cause of EVD transmission and manifestation of EVD was poor the Baka people had significantly higher knowledge of these than the Bantus Being hunter-gathers with a high exposure to animals compared to the Bantu people who are mainly subsistence farmers could have made it easier for the Baka people to recall information on the cause of EVD and the role of animals in transmission as this pertained to their main occupation community sensitization was done in study area in collaboration with FAIRMED (formerly Leprosy Relief Emmaus Switzerland) under a self-help-oriented project implemented by FAIRMED Cameroon with the aim of improving the health and empowering members of this community the findings of this research were communicated to health practitioners and the public through the Abong-Mbang Health District monthly coordination and health dialogue structure meetings we will design and carry out a follow-up study to determine whether there has been an increase in knowledge and change in behaviour so as to further correct misconceptions and risky practices observed This shows that a less virulent strain might have circulated in study area and could not cause any clinical disease almost two-thirds of participants had undergone scarification which was performed for treatment purposes Other major reasons for scarification were spiritual protection practices such as scarification could play a major role in secondary transmission of EVD This is because with their low level of education traditional healers may have limited knowledge of infection prevention and may instead expose their patients to infection The semi-sedentary lifestyle of the Baka people influenced their ability to seek medical treatment in a health facility particularly if it is at a distant location health care accessibility and functionality were the major contributory factors Up to 91.2% of study participants indicated they did not have a health facility in their village of residence the Health Centre is present but had not been functional for some years due to lack of equipment and staff Some participants complained of the attitude of some medical staff who at times ignored them because of their social and economic status This greatly discouraged them from subsequent visits Our study did not complement the quantitative data with sufficient qualitative data to capture more information on knowledge practices and predisposing factors to Ebola virus infection and spread the design of the questionnaire limited the amount of data that was collected on knowledge and behavioural practices that could influence exposure These constituted limitations to our study Although the majority of the Baka community was aware of EVD their knowledge on its cause and transmission was poor Most participants had misconceptions about EVD and were engaged in practices that could expose them to infection with Ebola virus Based on our findings there is need for rigorous sensitization to educate people about Ebola virus disease and clarify the misconceptions observed among participants Surveillance of communities in study area for EVD is recommended particularly as outbreaks of EVD have often been reported in the Congo Basin There is an urgent need for more functional medical facilities in study area for prompt disease diagnosis and management The datasets used and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request Centers for Disease Control 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As Ebola cases reach 3000 in DRC, WHO calls on all partners to fulfill promises to communities. 2019. https://www.who.int/news-room/detail. Accessed Sept 2 DRC Ebola outbreak: Crisis update- August 2019 Misconceptions about Ebola seriously affect the prevention efforts: KAP related to Ebola prevention and treatment in Kouroussa prefecture perception and source of information on Ebola virus disease-Lagos 2015;7(ecurrents.outbreaks):0b805ca244d700a47d6a3713ef2d6db Jalloh MF, Bunnel R, Robinson S, Jalloh MB, Barry AM, Corker C, et al. Assessments of Ebola knowledge, attitudes and practices in Forécariah, Guinea and Kambia, sierra Leon, July-august 2015. Philos Trans R Soc Lond Ser B Biol Sci. 2017;372(1721):20160304. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2016.0304 attitudes and practices regarding Ebola virus disease-five countries The impact of traditional and religious practices on the spread of Ebola in West Africa: time for a strategic shift Gatherer D. The 2014 Ebola virus disease outbreak in West Africa. J Gen Virol. 2014;95(8):1619–24. https://doi.org/10.1099/vir.0.067199-0 Gire SK, Goba A, Andersen KG. Genomic surveillance elucidates Ebola virus origin and transmission during the 2014 outbreak. Science. 2014;345(6202):1369–72. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1259657 Serological study of the virus responsible for hemorrhagic fever in an urban population of Cameroon Antibody prevalence against hemorrhagic fever viruses in randomized representative Central African populations Indigenous peoples’ rights and livelihood opportunities in south-East Cameroon; report 13- international work Group for Indigenous Affairs (IWGIA) Copenhagen-Denmark: Plan Finland and Plan Cameroon; 2012 Download references We thank our study participants and various authorities who granted authorization for this study to be conducted Department of Microbiology and Parasitology Frankline Sevidzem Wirsiy & Jane-Francis Tatah Kihla Akoachere FSW together with AUB and J-FKTA designed the study All authors read and approved the final manuscript All the principles of a good ethical research were respected Ethical approval (No: CE031/CRERSHC) was obtained from the Centre Regional Ethics Committee for Human Health Research of the Ministry of Public Health Cameroon Administrative approval was obtained from the Regional Delegation of Public Health for the East Region Verbal informed consent was obtained from every participant prior to collection of data This is because most of our participants could not read or write This procedure was approved by the ethics committee Participants 21 years and above granted consent to participate in the study Minors gave assent and consent for them to participate in the study was obtained from their parent/guardian The authors declare that they have no competing interests Questionnaire administered to study participants unless otherwise stated in a credit line to the data Download citation DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12879-021-06011-z in collaboration with the African Institute of Computer Science has introduced a new training program aimed at empowering refugees and underprivileged locals with digital skills This program is part of MTN’s efforts to enhance digital literacy and promote financial inclusion in the country will subsequently be expanded to include AICS-Cameroon centers in several other regions possessing basic digital literacy is crucial in today’s digital era motivating the company to initiate this program MTN recognizes that the digital divide in Cameroon has resulted in digital illiteracy the telecom company is dedicated to providing individuals in remote areas with essential skills to effectively use technology and embrace the opportunities offered by digital advancements Mbome emphasized the significance of removing barriers to entry enabling all individuals to be part of the ongoing digital revolution and actively contribute to the progress of Cameroon and Africa at large This initiative by MTN is poised to bridge the digital gap and create a more inclusive and digitally empowered society Sign up for our weekly newsletter and get the latest industry insights right in your inbox You don't have permission to access the page you requested What is this page?The website you are visiting is protected.For security reasons this page cannot be displayed The project has succeeded in curbing preterm and low birth weight deaths in the East Region by about 50 per cent in two years but insufficient equipment is hampering further success “Improving access and quality of new-born care in 5 health districts of the East Region from 2018-2020” is still underway Funded by the Korea National UNICEF Committee and implemented by the East Regional Delegation of Public Health and the Cameroon Kangaroo Foundation the project also received technical and financial assistance from UNICEF Cameroon KMC project covered about 5,000 children in Abong-Mbang Batouri and Garoua Boulai Health Districts Batouri and Garoua Boulai District Hospitals; Catholic Integrated Health Centre Bertoua Regional Hospital and the Protestant Hospital Though evaluation is still going on to determine the full impact of the project “If preterm and low birth weight children before the project were dying at the rate of say This is because a great majority of parents continue to follow KMC instructions after leaving hospital,” Ottop explains In some of the 7 health facilities involved in the project there have been no preterm and low birth weight deaths in the past two years some women do not honour KMC appointments in hospital because of lack of means and sometimes public transport but most decisions concerning the child are taken by the father the decision to take the child to hospital or accept kangaroo mother care must be approved by the husband before the wife agrees,” Ottop explains Mbororo tribes people consider preterm babies a curse “Talking them out of such a belief is not easy but we keep sensitising by passing through their traditional and religious leaders Sensitisation is continuous,” she assures.  Наслаждайтесь азартом на любом устройстве! Скачайте мобильное приложение Vavada kz и играйте без блокировок Начните с приветственного бонуса и открывайте для себя турниры Offer your company and your employees the best information Take advantage of our preferential rates reserved for professionals Discover our digital subscription offers to find Cameroon-Tribune at home (Business in Cameroon) - Abong-Mbang is set to become an important fresh water fish production town in Cameroon as a result of the fish production ‘agropole’ launched by government last weekend the project which was developed by twenty people,will increase the yearly freshwater fish production from 37 tons (actually) to 183 tons in Haut-Nyong The increase is due to government’s financial supporrt 1.2 million fries will be available (instead of the 80,000 currently available) Producers will also be able to buy 500 tons of fish feeds while the current purchase volume is 20 tons government plans to boost local livestock production and limit the massive imports of food products It also seeks to help create revenue-generating activities for residents in rural areas the debt ceiling of Cameroon had been set to CFA1 This is disclosed in the performance project 2018 of the ministry in charge of the economy (MINEPAT) the various projects which called for the funds’ mobilization during the period under review are the projects for the modernization of the electricity transport network (CFA190.949 billion) the one for the development of transport (CFA113.086 billion) the construction of electricity transport infrastructures and Memve'ele hydroelectric dam (CFA87.619 billion) and the construction of the 225 KV Nkongsamba-Bafoussam-Yaoundé-Abong-Mbang electricity transport line (CFA56.773 billion) has borrowed CFA18.301 billion to finance the agro-pastoral National Participatory Development Programme (PNDP) For the Facilité de Coopération Technique II-11ème FED The water and sanitation project in rural zones has required CFA113.086 billion and the one for the development and commercialization of livestock and rearing infrastructures has required CFA24.945 billion Cameroon’s government used CFA17.995 billion to finance the second phase of the Chari-Logone integrated rural development project (Business in Cameroon) - During a collective cocoa sale on March 5 a key cocoa-producing area in Eastern Cameroon producer prices per kilogram soared to a new record of CFA4,225 marking the highest rate both nationally and globally issued an official statement celebrating the remarkable achievement of the Cameroonian cocoa market attributing its global prominence to favorable international market dynamics and the consistent improvement in the quality of the nation's cocoa beans the continued improvement in beans quality coupled with the current favorable conditions of Cameroon's cocoa sector which has seen producer prices rising for months is a result of the international market's situation This includes projected production declines in Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana mainly due to climate-related issues and aging plantations According to forecasts by the International Cocoa Organization (ICCO) global production for 2023-2024 is expected to fall by 11% to 4.45 million tons This is anticipated to lead to a market deficit of 374,000 tons by September 2024 a significant increase from the 74,000 tons recorded during the 2022/2023 cocoa season The adverse conditions in the international market have led to a surge in cocoa prices translating into better remuneration for producers in countries like Cameroon cocoa has been the best-performing agricultural commodity on the markets 1977 record of $5379 in early February the price of the benchmark cocoa contract for March delivery on the Intercontinental Exchange in New York broke the $6000 barrier this is a real breakthrough for brown gold which only a year earlier was trading at $2,668 a ton” Beyond the favorable international context Cameroonian producers are also benefiting from the strategy of collective sales which enhances their bargaining power against buyers fostering competition among buyers and subsequently increasing producer remuneration explains the surge in prices for Cameroon's distinctive red-brown cocoa beans since the start of the 2023-2024 campaign typically affiliated with major international traders and local processors vying for control over the increasingly scarce beans has intensified As exporters continue to make massive purchases the country has welcomed three new local processing plants in less than three years (Atlantic Cocoa with combined capacities approaching 100,000 tons Several operators are prepared to increase their bids to acquire beans aiming to maintain operations in their frequently idle factories caused by a shortage of raw materials (Business in Cameroon) - Work is progressing on deploying the 225 kV transmission line project between Nkongsamba-Bafoussam and Yaoundé-Abong-Mbang the Ministry of water and energy (Minee) reports So is the construction of the 225/90/30kV VHV (Very High Voltage) substation in Bafoussam as well as the extensions of the Ahala The projects mainly aim to interconnect the Southern grid with that of the Eastern via the Abong-Mbang substation preliminary design studies have been completed and the government has signed a commercial contract with the Indian company Kalpataru a $110 million financing agreement was signed with Exim Bank India Kalpataru has also completed the feasibility studies and is mobilized in the field The contract with the project manager has already been signed Kalpataru Power Transmission Limited (KPTL) is one of the main players in the global energy transmission market oil and gas infrastructure and agro-logistics (Business in Cameroon) - Indian firms Kalpataru Projets International Limited and Transrail Lighting Limited secured three lots of the Cameroon-Chad electrical interconnection project (Pirect) as indicated in the contract award notice signed by Victor Mbemi Nyankga the Managing Director of the National Electricity Transmission Company (Sonatrel) The Indian service providers are responsible for the design and installation of high-voltage lines for the 225 kV interconnection between the Southern Interconnected Network (RIS) and the Northern Interconnected Network (RIN) in three lots The total value of the contract is estimated at a little more than CFA119.7 billion with a 20-month execution period for each lot Kalpataru Projets International Limited secures lots 1 and 2 of the project involves high-voltage line work from Nachtigal to Yoko (Central Region) Lot 2 covers the construction of a high-voltage line from Yoko to Tibati (Adamawa Region) for CFA34.1 billion Lot 3 is awarded to Transrail Lighting Limited and involves the design and installation of the high-voltage line from Tibati to Wouro Soua (Adamawa Region) for CFA44.2 billion the two selected companies competed with several others whose offers were rejected for non-compliance in all three lots Companies such as the China Railway First Group consortium had their offers evaluated but were not selected Kalpataru has previously worked on several electrical projects in Africa and Cameroon including the construction of the 225 kV power transmission line between Nkongsamba-Bafoussam and Yaoundé-Abong-Mbang claims to have proven its capabilities in various projects in Africa officially launched on November 21 in Yaoundé the project aims to supply the northern regions of Cameroon and Chad thereby improving electricity access rates in both countries It involves transporting the electric power generated by the Nachtigal Dam (420 MW) still under construction in the Central Region of Cameroon over a transport network spanning more than 1,300 km to reach the Chadian city of Bongor the Project is estimated at CFA557.5 billion and is financed by the World Bank (Business in Cameroon) - Starting from 2018 Cameroon could produce up to 17 million coffee plants annually during a review meeting of the 2016-2017 coffee campaign the production basin in the Eastern region which should help end the insufficiency of coffee plants in the country is based on a partnership concluded recently between the national cocoa and coffee board (Conseil interprofessionnel du Cacao et du café- CICC) and the programme to support agricultural competitiveness the programme which has developed log yards (site for the production of cuttings) for producers’ cooperatives has transferred those to the board which will manage and exploit them for efficient production during the last Cameroonian coffee festival (Festicoffee) CICC has signed a convention with Côte d’Ivoire’s center for agricultural research CNRA for a transfer of technology for the production of coffee plants from coffee beans (Business in Cameroon) - In its 2020-2030 investment plan the National Society of Transport Electricity (SONATREL) informs that it intends to build 460km of 400-kV transport lines and four transmission substations while rehabilitating three transmission substations and about two dozens of source stations Sonatrel will build the Ngaoundéré-Tibati (225 Kv) and Tibati-Ngaoundal (30 Kv) Bertoua-Garoua-Boulai-Meiganga-Ngaoundéré (225 Kv) Yaoundé-Abong-Mbang  and Nkongsamba-Bafoussam (225 Kv) lines ‘the government will pay a particular attention to the modernization of the energy distribution network,’ the company adds It provided no detail about the financing strategy for the projects but a presidential decree of April 23 had already allowed it to amend its statutes to be able to create subsidiaries and even open its capital (which is currently XAF10 billion) to private and public institutions That decree provides it with more flexibility in its resource mobilization strategies Sonatrel funds its operations using revenues it generates from energy transportation and electricity network management activities According to the price grid published on December 11 by the  Electricity Sector Regulatory Agency (ARSEL) Sonatrel generates XAF10,626 per kWh of energy transported (Business in Cameroon) - The Enable Youth Cameroon program launched a program to support 512 young agricultural entrepreneurs across the country The AfDB-backed program will train the beneficiaries for one year from May 2023 to May 2024 Applicants for this training must have "proven professional experience in the agropastoral and agribusiness sector," we learned They must also be between 18 and 35 years old Fifteen incubation centers have been selected in the Central These include the Obala Agricultural Institute the Abong-Mbang Technical School of Agriculture the Dibombari Technical School of Agriculture and the Ebolowa Regional College of Agriculture The Enable Youth program is being implemented under the Agricultural Value Chain Development Project (PD_CVA) funded through a non-concessional loan from the African Development Bank (AfDB) to the Republic of Cameroon Enable Youth Cameroon is fully implemented by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) between IITA and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development Cameroon's Minister of Employment and Vocational Training embarked on a tour to sensitize companies in the East region to the need to comply with regulations governing the employment of foreign workers in the country This forestry and mining region is home to numerous companies employing around 1,000 foreign workers as is the case in many of the country's companies This is hampering the implementation of provisions related to skill transfer in the country notably in the towns of Abong-Mbang and Doumé Minister Tchiroma particularly emphasized the need for companies employing foreign workers to ensure the transfer of skills to locals Minister Tchiroma's tour is part of the government's drive to track illegal foreign workers (the operation has been intensified in May 2023) Issa Tchiroma Bakary explained in an official press release: "Despite awareness campaigns and formal notices sent to company directors they continue to unlawfully employ a large number of foreign workers in violation of enforceable regulations.”  The said regulations stipulate that "the Minister should only grant a work visa to a foreign worker if it is proven that there is no competent Cameroonian for the position requested," or if the employer "proves that a Cameroonian has also been hired to assist the foreign worker to enable technology and skills transfer,” the Minister of Employment pointed out in a circular dated June 2022.  based on that circular,  Finance Minister Louis Paul Motazé notified the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Atlantique Assurances Cameroun IARDT of his refusal to approve Ivorian Raoul Charlemagne Raymond Yapo for the position of Managing Director "I am honored to inform you that I am unable to favorably respond to the request to approve Mr as the managing director of Atlantique assurances Cameroun IARDT insofar as his file does not meet the requirements of the circular (.. from the Minister of Employment and Vocational Training the employment contract in question and proof that there are no Cameroonians qualified for the position applied for," reads the letter sent by Minister Motazé to the CEO of Atlantique Assurances Cameroun IARDT on March 2 (Business in Cameroon) - Within the framework of the project to launch the Cameroon Commodities Exchange (CCX) the Eleni LLC firm which is advising the government on the project has suggested the creation of storage and delivery centres for products traded on the CCX in nine Cameroonian towns and cities: Kumba according to Eleni LLC “evaluation of the warehouse capacity reveals a warehouse storage infrastructure deficit of 300,000 MT over five years in the aforementioned cities for the volume of trade projected for the 8 commodities of interest.” The Cameroonian government made two calls for tenders “to build packaging and storage complexes in some farming areas.” Over 3 billion FCFA will be invested in these facilities But private operators would also be interested in this type of investment such as the Bolloré group which “would invest in the construction of new warehouses for the CCX and has land outside of Douala.” (Business in Cameroon) - The construction of this dam will strengthen the south interconnected network i.e increase access to electricity for the local population and ensure the development of all sectors of the economy The Njock hydroelectric dam project is located near Eséka in the Centre Region the Nyong basin is the second-largest river basin in Cameroon Studies by the Research Institute for Development (IRD) shows that the Nyong has its source near Abong-Mbang at an altitude of about 700 m The river passes through a series of rapid falls the most important of which are those of Mpoume near Makak and Njock near Eseka The total length of its course is 670 km while the longest of its basins is 400 km The Njock hydroelectric project on river Nyong covers six regions: Centre  € 270 million (CFAF 180 billion)The dam is estimated to generate 200 MW of power technical studies are in progress and funding is being sought Cameroon needs to mobilize CFAF 180 billion to achieve the culmination of this project According to the studies already available The Minister of Water Resources and Energy Gaston Eloundou Essomba during a special plenary sitting of the National Assembly explained actions to tackle water and electricity supply challenges