The assessment of poverty, object of the fourth survey of households is to take place in September.

The fourth Cameroonian household survey (ECAM) conducted by the national Institute of statistics (INS) will start in principle at the end of September 2014.

Following the previous 1996, 2001 and 2007, it focuses mainly, according to sources at the service of coordination of investigations, on the indicators of living conditions of the population throughout the national territory.

"These indicators enable the updating of the profile of poverty, monitoring and evaluation of the national strategy for growth and employment and progress towards the achievement of the objectives of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). They also assess the impact of programmes and macroeconomic policies implemented in Cameroon on household living conditions", said to the INS.

The 612 persons selected to be used for the collection of data that will form the basis of ECAM have been in training since Wednesday, August 28 through the capitals of regional pools created for the occasion. For instance, Yaoundé for Central, South and East; Bamenda for the Northwest and the Southwest; Douala for the Littoral and West and finally Garoua for Adamawa, far North and the North.

The updating of the statistical compendium engaged will improve economic policies. The Strategy Document for growth and employment (OCSG) arising from the findings of the 2007 ECAM, explained Honoré Tchamgoué, demographer at the INS and member of the training team in Yaoundé, the results of the new ECAM can only be awaited for the faces and answers to poverty in Cameroon.

The last assessment (2007) had concluded that: "poverty remains significant in Cameroon." At this date, 7.1 million people, 39.9% of the total population (then estimated at 17.9 million inhabitants), lived below the poverty line.

It indicated that poverty is being attached to F 269 443 per adult per year. In short, a poor person, according to local standards, lives in a household in which the average annual expenditure per adult is less than 738 F per day or 22 454 F per month.