Accès des refugies et autochtones aux services sociaux de base dans la localité de zamay (département du mayo-tsanaga- Cameroun)

Abstract

The subject of our study concerns the access of refugees and indigenous people to basic social services is not balanced in the area where they reside. This work, conducted in the locality of Zamay, Mayo-Tsanaga department in the Far North region of Cameroon, aims to assess the level of access to basic social services between these two communities. To achieve this objective, we employed a methodology based on a hypothetico-deductive approach, including documentary research, surveys, interviews, questionnaires, direct observations, analysis of satellite and photographic images, and an impact matrix.Socio-economic data collection was carried out using the Kobotoolbox platform and deployed through the Kobocollect application. To gather information on access to basic social services for refugees and indigenous people in Zamay, our study utilized a sample from Nwana’s model, comprising 214 refugees and 892 additional key informants. Field results indicate that available services include education, clean water, and housing. Services that are less available include healthcare, electricity, hygiene, and sanitation. Services with assured access are clean water (62%), education (56%), and security (52%). Conversely, access is not assured for healthcare (60%), hygiene and sanitation (78%), housing (80%), and electricity (70%). Disparities in access to these services between refugees and indigenous people are significant. The impacts of unequal access for these two communities are both negative (57.14%) and positive (42.7%). Perspectives have been considered to improve free and equitable access to basic social services for both populations in this locality.