Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights in Cameroon
From 2000 to 2021, Cameroon experienced a 40% decline in adolescent fertility, from 139 to 83 births per 1,000 girls ages 15 to 19. This progress occurred despite ongoing conflict and reflects sustained action across sectors to advance girls’ rights, expand access to education, and adapt health systems to better serve adolescent needs.
Adolescent fertility rate (births per 1,000 girls ages 15–19).
Research Brief
In the early 2000s, Cameroon implemented a series of reforms that led to exemplary progress in adolescent sexual and reproductive health and rights (ASRHR). The country abolished primary school fees and made education compulsory, and incorporated adolescent-focused care into existing, politically supported HIV/AIDS frameworks. These efforts contributed to an initial decline in adolescent fertility throughout the 2010s.
From 2014 onward, Cameroon’s reforms became more institutionalized and explicitly multisectoral. A new high-level coordinating body brought together key ministries and development partners under a shared reproductive, maternal, and adolescent health framework, while a National Gender Policy reinforced cross-sector commitments to girls’ empowerment. The government also raised the legal minimum age of marriage for girls from 15 to 18 and introduced complementary community-based initiatives that engaged traditional and religious leaders, local authorities, and parents in addressing child marriage and gender-based violence. Finally, targeted education interventions in conflict-affected and displaced communities helped girls remain in school. Collectively, these interventions contributed to the country’s most rapid decline in adolescent fertility between 2015 and 2021.