Cameroon

The Indomitable Lionesses outshine their opponents to claim first final victory on their fourth attempt in Morocco.

Cameroon claimed their first Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) title when they thumped surprise package Malawi 3-0 in the final, with Marie Ngah’s first-half double helping seal victory on Sunday.

Cameroon had lost three finals but made it fourth-time lucky against a Malawi side making their debut at the continental championship. Ranked 153 in the world and 32nd on the African continent, Malawi had a fairytale run to the decider.

The two finalists had already sealed their place at the Women’s World Cup in Brazil next year, along with fellow semifinalists Morocco and Algeria. The latter finished third after winning the bronze medal fixture on penalties on Saturday.

Under pressure, FIFA chief Gianni Infantino was all smiles as he handed the Indomitable Lionesses their medals in the presence of Confederation of African Football President Patrice Motsepe, with several players requesting photographs with the Swiss.

Infantino has long enjoyed the support of many on the African continent as he bids for re-election next March, despite revelations of his now-abandoned plans to sell a stake in future World Cups, which drew worldwide condemnation.

Cameroon dominated the first half and led 3-0 at the break after a superb performance against an outgunned Malawi.

Ngah reacted quickest to a loose ball in the box to give them the lead from close range after 20 minutes and they doubled the advantage on the half-hour mark as Naomi Eto added a second.

Malawi were clinging on and hoping to make it to halftime without any further damage but Ngah scored her second in the third minute of added time from Eto’s pass.

Cameroon are the fourth different winners of the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations since it was first played in 1998.

Nigeria have a record 10 titles, while Equatorial Guinea have two and South Africa one.

Algeria, Morocco, Cameroon and Malawi have all qualified for the 2027 Women’s World Cup in Brazil.

The Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (Wafcon) in Morocco is also acting as a qualifying tournament for next summer’s tournament, with any country that makes the semi-finals earning their places at the World Cup.

Algeria beat 10-player Ivory Coast 2-1, with goals from Ines Khiri and Amira Ould Braham – after N’Sira Oudraogo was sent off when the Ivorians were 1-0 ahead – to reach the Wafcon last four and qualify for a Women’s World Cup for the first time.

Goals from Sakina Ouzraoui Diki and Hanane Ait El Haj helped Morocco defeat South Africa 2-1 to claim their place, with Cameroon securing a 1-0 victory over Nigeria thanks to a spectacular 30-yard free-kick from 19-year-old Myriam Nyadjou.

The fourth spot was taken by Malawi, 153rd in the world rankings, who caused a huge shock by beating Ghana 2-1, coming from behind with goals from Temwa Chawinga and Rose Kadzere.

The Wafcon semi-finals will take place on Wednesday with Morocco taking on Cameroon before Algeria meet Malawi.

The four nations that lost in the Wafcon quarter-finals – Ghana, Ivory Coast, Nigeria and South Africa – still have a chance to qualify for the World Cup.

On Thursday, Ivory Coast play Ghana and Nigeria will face South Africa with the two winners going into the 10-nation intercontinental play-offs in November and December.

Out of those 10 countries in the play-offs, three will qualify for next summer’s World Cup, which begins on 24 June and ends on 25 July.

Garoua and Tiko, Cameroon – A year ago, Oumarou Sanda, mayor of Garoua 2 in northern Cameroon, raised a trophy above his head after his municipality was named Cameroon’s Citizenship Champion for its efforts to expand birth registration.

The recognition, awarded through UNICEF-supported initiatives in partnership with the Cameroonian government, marked months of work to address one of the country’s most persistent but often invisible child protection gaps: the absence of legal identity for thousands of children.

Under Cameroon’s civil status law, every child has the right to a birth certificate. Parents are expected to register births within 90 days at no cost. After that period, registration becomes more complex, and after one year, families must go through court procedures that are often costly, time-consuming, and difficult to navigate.

For many parents, that system remains out of reach.

“One of my eldest children was sent home years ago from school because we didn’t have his official papers,” says Aissatou Bouba, a mother of four living in Garoua 2.

That changed in 2024 when she brought her youngest child to a local health facility where staff registered the birth immediately after delivery, issuing the documents needed to establish his legal identity.

Her experience reflects a wider reality. According to Cameroon’s Ministry of Basic Education, more than 1.5 million children, about 30 percent of primary school pupils, are enrolled without birth certificates.

Without that documentation, the consequences often emerge later in life.

“If a child stays without a birth certificate, the child will not have admission into secondary school,” says Anna Enanga epse Itoe, head of the civil status bureau at the Tiko Council in Cameroon’s southwest region.

“It will be impossible to sit for public examinations. It will also be impossible to obtain a national identity card, which is needed to access many services,” she told Al Jazeera.

UNICEF estimates that, of the 560,000 births recorded in health facilities in 2023, only 43.77 percent were officially registered. The gap leaves many children exposed to risks that extend beyond education.

“Children without documentation are harder to trace, monitor, or protect,” says Alexis Mayang, a UNICEF child protection specialist based in Yaounde. “They can be moved across borders with fewer checks,” he told Al Jazeera.

He added that in conflict-affected areas, the lack of identification increases vulnerability to exploitation, including recruitment into armed groups.

A response to a protection gap

The push to address these gaps gained momentum after the first Mayors’ Forum on Birth Registration in April 2024, where local authorities signed a charter committing to strengthen civil registration systems in their municipalities.

Following the forum, UNICEF, working with the government and local partners, supported the rollout of the “My Name” campaign, aimed at identifying and registering children without legal documentation across Cameroon’s 360 councils and 14 cities.

Since its launch, officials involved in the programme say more than 17,000 children have been registered.

Municipalities were assessed based on how effectively they improved registration systems, including setting up civil registration services within health facilities and identifying out-of-school children without documentation.

In Tiko, in the southwest, officials brought registration services closer to remote communities, working with traditional leaders to collect birth declarations from rural areas.

“In Tiko, people are coming every day to register their children and obtain birth certificates,” says Enanga. “We have issued documents to thousands of children.”

To manage demand, local chiefs played a central role in documenting births in hard-to-reach areas before forwarding records to council offices.

In Garoua 2, authorities took a different approach. Faced with delays caused by handwritten registers, the municipality shifted to digital civil status systems, allowing certificates to be issued within minutes.

Barriers that remain

Despite these gains, officials say significant challenges remain.

In many communities, birth registration is still not prioritised, with some parents only engaging with the system when children are denied access to schooling or barred from sitting national examinations.

Schools often become the first point of enforcement, particularly at primary level, where pupils without documentation are turned away from key assessments.

Deeper social barriers also remain. Child protection workers say that in some rural communities, harmful norms persist, including beliefs that girls do not require formal documentation or education. These practices contribute to undocumented children and increase the risk of early or forced marriage.

Officials and community workers say traditional and religious leaders are increasingly being engaged in awareness campaigns aimed at changing these perceptions and encouraging earlier registration of births.

Globally, UNICEF estimates that 166 million children under the age of five remain unregistered. In Cameroon, officials say closing that gap will depend not only on administrative reform, but also on shifting how communities define a child’s legal existence.

“I was happy knowing that my son could get educated without any hindrance,” Bouba told Al Jazeera.

Several communities in Cameroon’s national capital, Yaounde, have been submerged after days of torrential rain, making life difficult for residents. The Central Post Office Roundabout was particularly affected, causing traffic disruptions on Monday morning, June 8. Locals reported that this area often floods during the rainy season. 

“When the heart of the city is blocked, it goes without saying that many other parts of the city cease to function normally,” a local dweller told HumAngle. “That is exactly what has been happening in Yaounde since late last week.”

Following the downpour on Thursday, June 4, the door to the Central Post Office was inundated, completely blocking access to the facility. The flooding has also interfered with commercial activities in the area.

Eyewitnesses told HumAngle that 20th May Boulevard,  a ceremonial avenue in the heart of Yaounde, was also submerged, with vehicles stuck in floodwaters and some trapped in mud washed into the city. “Towing facilities would have to be brought in to drag some of the cars and trucks stuck in the mud,” one eyewitness revealed.

“I feel fortunate that my vehicle is still here, but I’ve hardly slept since it got stuck, for fear of theft. It’s disheartening to see this situation repeat every year while the City Council allows conditions to worsen without taking action,” another witness said.

Flooding, especially around the Central Post Office, has become an annual crisis in Yaoundé. Atangana Davis, a civil society activist, said some Chinese contractors had dug drainage facilities around the post office, promising improvements. “Yet, the floods persist, worsening each year, demonstrating the failure of the council’s supposed infrastructure upgrades,” Atangana said.

The current floods highlight the urgent need to rehabilitate the city’s sanitation infrastructure, locals said. The rainwater evacuation network is often criticised for its insufficient capacity during heavy rain, compounded by frequent debris blockages in residential gutters that impede rainwater flow.

Town planner Isidore Djeunkeu said that the causes of this ongoing issue are known to everyone, including the City Council authorities. “It begs the question: why is it so challenging to find a solution to this recurring problem?” Isidore asked.

The Cameroonian government has urgently called for strong legal action against perpetrators of gender-based violence and child abuse, citing a significant increase in femicide and sexual assault nationwide.

According to official data released by the government on June 1, the sharp rise in domestic and gender-based killings is disturbing. In 2023, 50 women were documented murdered in Cameroon. That figure rose to 67 cases in 2024, and surged to 77 in 2025. Officials noted that data collected in the first half of 2026 suggests the tragic upward trend is continuing unabated.

During a recent joint press conference in Yaoundé, the capital of Cameroon, the Minister of Communication, alongside the Ministers of Women’s Empowerment, Social Affairs, and Public Health, called for immediate collective action to halt the escalating crisis. The officials emphasised that a vast majority of these femicides are not random acts of violence and are perpetrated by individuals close to the victims, including spouses, family members, neighbours, and acquaintances.

The major increase in femicide cases is further aggravated by an alarming increase in violent crimes against minors, including rape, murder, and severe physical abuse. High-profile cases currently under investigation include the tragic incidents involving three-year-old Bissong Omgba Joyce, who suffered sexual abuse; 11-year-old Divine Mbarga, who was raped and murdered; and the Nkolbisson tragedy in which a mother killed her three children before taking her own life. Also, in March 2026, an 11-month-old infant was murdered by a family member in Douala, and another 11-year-old boy, Karl Ethan, was killed in Minkan.

In response to the ongoing issue of gender-based violence, several women’s rights organisations have come together to deliver a strong message. They stressed that no woman should lose her life because of her gender, and no child should be raised in an environment filled with fear, violence, or abuse. The women also expressed grave concerns about the situation in Cameroon, describing it as critical and calling for nationwide mobilisation and warned against the trivialisation of gender-based crimes.

“Behind these statistics are broken lives, bereaved families and profoundly shocked communities. Women, mothers, girls and housewives have lost their lives under circumstances linked to gender-based violence,” said Lizzy Claude, a women’s rights activist.

“This is a reality which is more and more disquieting to the civil society and defenders of human rights, especially within a context marked by a spike in sexual violence and abuses inflicted on children,” Lizzy added.