Remise en cause, reconfiguration ou recomposition ? Des solidarités familiales à l’épreuve de la précarité à Dakar

S’appuyant sur une enquête de terrain réalisée dans deux quartiers de Dakar (Sénégal) différant fortement quant à leur constitution historique et leur profil socioéconomique, cette recherche documente les nouvelles dynamiques des solidarités familiales dans un contexte global marqué par une précarité socioéconomique grandissante. Elle s’organise autour de trois éléments majeurs : la place toujours centrale occupée par les solidarités familiales, mais relevant davantage aujourd’hui du symbolique et du référentiel ; leur structuration différentielle selon la catégorie sociale, le genre et la génération ; enfin, leur mise à l’épreuve porteuse de nouvelles dynamiques. Celles-ci ont notamment trait à un renforcement de la solidarité dans l’espace conjugal, à un renversement des flux de solidarité entre « générations de la crise » et « aînés sociaux », ainsi qu’à des discours critiques débouchant sur une remise en cause des solidarités familiales avec l’apparition de nouvelles aspirations et pratiques reflétant plus la vie économique et sociale de la famille.Based on fieldwork carried out in two neighborhoods in Dakar (Senegal) that differentiate strongly both in their historical constitution and in their social and economical profiles, this study reveals the new dynamics in family solidarity in a global context marked by increasing social and economical precariousness. Centering on three major elements : firstly, the perennial central position of family solidarity although nowadays more closely related to the symbolical and the referential ; secondly, their differentiating structuring depending to social category, gender and generation ; and finally their tested strength as a source of new dynamics. These apply in particular to a strengthening of solidarity in the conjugal space, to an upheaval of the flow of solidarity between the “crisis generations” and the “social elders”, as well as a critical discourse leading to questioning family solidarity given the appearance of new, practical aspirations reflecting more precisely the family’s economic and social life.Basándose en una investigación de terreno realizada en dos barrios de Dakar (Senegal) que difieren mucho en cuanto a su constitución histórica y a su perfil socioeconómico, esta investigación documenta las nuevas dinámicas de las solidaridades familiares en un contexto global caracterizado por una precariedad socioeconómica creciente. La investigación se organiza en torno a tres elementos principales : el lugar central ocupado por las solidaridades familiares, pero dependiendo más hoy de lo simbólico y de lo referencial ; su estructuración diferencial según la categoría social, el género y la generación ; por último, su puesta a prueba como portadora de nuevas dinámicas. Éstas se refieren, principalmente, a un refuerzo de la solidaridad en el espacio conyugal, a una inversión de los flujos de solidaridad entre “generaciones de la crisis” y “ancianos sociales”, así como en los discursos críticos que desembocan en un cuestionamiento de las solidaridades familiares con la aparición de nuevas aspiraciones y prácticas que reflejan más la vida económica y social de la familia

first results from an experiment on on-farm planting material production in Cameroon

Rubber smallholdings have yet to be widely developed in Cameroon and, in the absence of a support programme for that sector, small and medium-sized farms are encountering numerous difficulties. One of their major constraints is access to budded planting material, resulting in a substantial use of seedlings to develop self-funded plantations. Yet, the use of budded planting material is highly decisive in the future productivity of a plantation, and consequently in farmer incomes. Based on experience in Southeast Asia, we put forward the hypothesis that Cameroonian smallholders could produce their own planting material. Developing budded plant production on farms would be well adapted to their socio-economic conditions. An on-farm experiment was set up in two villages of South-West province in Cameroon to test the hypothesis. This paper sets out briefly to describe the methodology used, before going on to present the first results obtained. They indicated that the cost of budded material produced by farmers was generally well below the agroindustrial selling price; most of the farmers sought to reduce their financial investment; planting material production enabled farmers to clearly limit financial costs. However, several difficulties were encountered in the first year of the experiment. The conclusion drawn is that, provided farmers receive ample technical supervision, support for budded planting material production on farms, by using a collective budwood garden, could be a worthwhile alternative for improving the incomes of small and medium-sized rubber farms in Cameroon. However, this experiment needs to be replicated on a larger scale to confirm the preliminary results. (Résumé d'auteur

The CFA Franc: French monetary imperialism in Africa

Ndongo Samba Sylla argues that the CFA franc - officially created on 26 December 1945 by a decree of General de Gaulle - used across much of Africa today is a colonial relic. For those hoping to export competitive products, obtain affordable credit, work for the integration of continental trade, or fight for an Africa free from imperialist control, the CFA franc is an anachronism demanding orderly and methodical eliminatio

Datation du Cycle du PIB Camerounais entre 1960 et 2003

This work aims to analyse the dynamics of macroeconomic fluctuations in Cameroon and to determine the resulting business and growth cycles turning point chronology. The construction of a reference turning point chronology poses some problems related to the choice of the methods to be used. In this work, we use the Bry and Broschan algorithm and the HODRICK-PRESCOTT filter to estimate the Cameroonian classical business cycle and growth cycle turning point chronology respectively. On the one hand, the results obtained point to a great similarity in the duration phases of the two kinds of cycles. On the other hand, the emerging cycles allow us to observe the influence of the negative shock of the 1985-86 years on the evolution of the Cameroonian GDP cycle.macroeconomic fluctuations; business cycles; growth cycles

Patterns of injury and violence in Yaoundé Cameroon: an analysis of hospital data.

BackgroundInjuries are quickly becoming a leading cause of death globally, disproportionately affecting sub-Saharan Africa, where reports on the epidemiology of injuries are extremely limited. Reports on the patterns and frequency of injuries are available from Cameroon are also scarce. This study explores the patterns of trauma seen at the emergency ward of the busiest trauma center in Cameroon's capital city.Materials and methodsAdministrative records from January 1, 2007, through December 31, 2007, were retrospectively reviewed; information on age, gender, mechanism of injury, and outcome was abstracted for all trauma patients presenting to the emergency ward. Univariate analysis was performed to assess patterns of injuries in terms of mechanism, date, age, and gender. Bivariate analysis was used to explore potential relationships between demographic variables and mechanism of injury.ResultsA total of 6,234 injured people were seen at the Central Hospital of Yaoundé's emergency ward during the year 2007. Males comprised 71% of those injured, and the mean age of injured patients was 29 years (SD = 14.9). Nearly 60% of the injuries were due to road traffic accidents, 46% of which involved a pedestrian. Intentional injuries were the second most common mechanism of injury (22.5%), 55% of which involved unarmed assault. Patients injured in falls were more likely to be admitted to the hospital (p < 0.001), whereas patients suffering intentional injuries and bites were less likely to be hospitalized (p < 0.001). Males were significantly more likely to be admitted than females (p < 0.001)DiscussionPatterns in terms of age, gender, and mechanism of injury are similar to reports from other countries from the same geographic region, but the magnitude of cases reported is high for a single institution in an African city the size of Yaoundé. As the burden of disease is predicted to increase dramatically in sub-Saharan Africa, immediate efforts in prevention and treatment in Cameroon are strongly warranted

Trypanosoma brucei gambiense in domestic livestock of Kogo and Mbini foci (Equatorial Guinea).

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate Trypanosoma brucei gambiense infection in peri-domestic livestock from Kogo and Mbini foci (Equatorial Guinea) in order to investigate its possible implication in the sleeping sickness transmission cycle in these hypoendemic foci. METHODS: Samples from 698 domestic animals (goats, sheep and pigs) from trypanosomiasis-endemic localities of Kogo and Mbini foci were tested for animal trypanosomes and T. b. gambiense (group I) by species-specific polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS: Trypanosoma brucei s.l., the predominant trypanosome species, was detected in 182 (52.6%) samples from Mbini and in 127 (36.1%) samples from Kogo. T. b. gambiense was only identified in seven (2%) of the Mbini samples and one co-infection (with T. vivax) was observed. CONCLUSION: The occurrence of T. b. gambiense in peri-domestic livestock in Mbini and its absence in Kogo could explain the epidemiological differences between the two foci and could have significant implications for sleeping sickness control in Equatorial Guinea