Sustainable Development Initiatives Making or Marring the Livelihood of the Pygmies of Cameroon

Pygmies are hunter gathers who are marginalized from political, economic and social life of Cameroon despite development efforts. This study investigates the implication of poverty reduction strategies initiated by the government of Cameroon and other stakeholders in line with the Millennium Development Goals MDGs 1and7 on the livelihood of the Pygmies. In order to provide context for this study, empirical literature review took a central stage in elaborating on relevant and related concepts and theories therefore identifying gaps. Conflict theory by Karl Marx was employed to give a deeper understanding and meaning to the study. Findings show that poor definition of ‘Pygmies' divergence in development expectations and integration methods difficulty with access to education, forest resources, land ownership and care in modern healthcare institutions explain the social exclusion in the Pygmy communities. Ethnographic approach was used for data collection, data which was classified homogeneously into themes. Content analysis technique was used to analyze the data collected. Findings also show that the association of these factors with poverty and poor health of ‘Pygmies' they are more vulnerable to disease malnutrition, diarrhea, gastritis, malaria, typhoid and intestinal infections . ‘Pygmy' people are most often left out of decision making processes that concern them directly.The failure of these projects is due to the clash between global and local perspectives and interests over the Western definition of develop communities, as well as the non recognition of the relationships between hunter gatherers and farmers that is based on cultural, historical and political ecology. Development has thus, become a process which mars the livelihood of the Pygmies rather than making it. This study therefore postulates that effective and adequate integration of ‘Pygmies' into society taking into account their cultural peculiarities and identity reduction of disparities and improvement of their health should be of major concern to the state and policy makers. Lum Mafor Shaleen Ambe | Robert Mbe Akoko "Sustainable Development Initiatives: Making or Marring the Livelihood of the Pygmies of Cameroon" Published in International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (ijtsrd), ISSN: 2456-6470, Volume-6 | Issue-7 , December 2022, URL: https://www.ijtsrd.com/papers/ijtsrd52274.pdf Paper URL: https://www.ijtsrd.com/humanities-and-the-arts/sociology/52274/sustainable-development-initiatives-making-or-marring-the-livelihood-of-the-pygmies-of-cameroon/lum-mafor-shaleen-ambe