Stakeholders review, validate National Family Policy.

Participants are from various government ministries, public institutions, civil society organisations, and technical experts. 

The workshop, we gathered, is a decisive phase in a long participatory process launched in 2022 to provide the country with a coherent and inclusive framework for family-oriented public policies.

The Minister of Women’s Empowerment and the Family, Prof Marie Thérèse Abena Ondoa, chaired the opening session. 

She praised the commitment of stakeholders involved in drafting the policy and expressed gratitude to participants and experts from various structures for their technical inputs that helped to shape the document under review. 

The minister used the event to underscored the central place of the family in society as a “primary setting for socialization”. 

“It is within the home that we first learn fundamental values such as love, solidarity, mutual respect and the sense of sharing,” she stated, adding that the family remains the foundation upon which the behaviours and collective vision of society are built.

Prof Abena Ondoa described the family as not only a social institution but a living environment of affection, protection, discipline and transmission of knowledge. 

“It is where children discover the world, where our youth find their bearings and where our elders pass down the moral and cultural heritage of generations,” she noted.

The minister acknowledged that the Cameroonian family is currently undergoing profound transformation including rapid urbanization, economic changes and the growing influence of new technologies. 

These factors, she noted, are reshaping traditional roles and exposing families to new vulnerabilities such as economic hardship, geographical separation and rising social tensions.

Despite the pressure, she insisted that the family remains an essential pillar of social cohesion. 

“Investing in the family is a sustainable investment in education, health, security, social equity and the harmonious development of the nation,” she stated, calling on all actors to preserve, strengthen and support families through adapted public policies and social systems.

The minister said the relevance and quality of the policy will largely depend on the contributions of participants

She stressed that the stakes are high, as the family must become a true lever for development, solidarity, resilience and protection of the most vulnerable.

The workshop, it should be said, seeks to validate a policy framework that is aligned with the country’s National Development Strategy and the country’s international commitments on human rights and gender equality. 

Through the ministry, she said government has engaged in a participatory approach to ensure that the policy reflects contemporary realities and the diverse configurations of families across the nation.

The National Family Policy, officials said, aims to promote harmony and stability within households, protect vulnerable persons, strengthen social equity and sustainably support human development. 

It also seeks to provide guidance for coordinated action among public institutions and partners working in the family and social sectors.

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3707 of Wednesday February 18, 2026