The Minister of Women’s Empowerment and the Family, Marie Therese Abena Ondoa has challenged families to be enterprising and to try to benefit from the revolving fund put in place by the ministry to get Cameroonian families out of poverty. The Minister was speaking at the courtyard of the ministry on Sunday May 15 as she chaired activities marking the 18^th edition of the International Day of Families. Placed on the theme, “Confronting family poverty and social exclusion,” Mrs Marie Therese Abena told the crowd of men and women who turned up to organise themselves in associations where they can make their voices heard and apply for funding that the 2 per cent interest loans initiated by the ministry should serve as encouragement to families.

In a country where the average annual income and expenditure of some households is lower than FCFA 269,443, the Minister told women that only participatory efforts can bring families out of this situation. The 2007 survey by “ECAM III” estimated that poverty is still very high in Cameroon with 39.9 per cent of families involved. She therefore enjoined them to join the crusade initiated by government in putting in place programmes and projects to empower families. She said government has been assisting rural women in the agricultural sector in order to bring down the number of poor families.

The Secretary General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-Moon, in his address on the occasion decried the fact that many families endure chronic poverty and hardship in the world. Lacking jobs and the means to make ends meet, adults are unable to provide adequate nutrition for children, leaving them with life-long physical and cognitive defects. He said though governments have adopted family-focused strategies like cash transfer programmes, child allowances and tax incentives, much remains to be done, especially by expanding them. The International Day of Families was proclaimed in 1984 by the United Nations General Assembly to express the world’s interest in the situation of families and encourage States to carry out activities at all levels.