Cameroon: AFJN and Local Authorities Hand Over 307 Birth Certificates to Previously Undocumented Children in Foumbot

Foumbot, Cameroon — July 14, 2026 — For 307 children in Foumbot, the receipt of a birth certificate marked a vital step from invisibility to recognition. During a public handover ceremony, parents received official documents confirming their children’s legal identity and strengthening their access to education, public services, and full participation in civic life.

After more than a year of sensitization, case identification, follow-up, and legal procedures, the certificates were formally handed over in the presence of the Deputy Mayor of Foumbot, Mr. Lengou Soule, and the Coordinator of the Africa Faith and Justice Network (AFJN) Cameroon, Ms massa Ferrancide.

The documents were secured through a mobile court process facilitated by AFJN in collaboration with AFJN Cameroon, the Foumbot municipal authorities, civil-registration officials, traditional leaders, and the justice system. The mobile court session resulted in the establishment of 307 birth certificates.

For families, the ceremony represented far more than the completion of an administrative process. It offered renewed hope that their children can enroll in school, sit for examinations, access public services, and obtain identification documents such as a passport later in life.

Wangori Aminatou, grandmother of some of the beneficiaries, described the relief felt by many families:

“It is a relief. Since the child was born, we had difficulties obtaining birth certificates. The association came and has now helped us understand the process.”

Bringing Justice Closer

Across Cameroon, obtaining a birth certificate remains a major challenge for many families, particularly those living in poverty, single-parent households, displaced families, and people with limited knowledge of administrative procedures. It could also mean remaining undocumented and not having access to basic services that Camerooneans are entitled to.

When a child is not registered after birth within the legal deadline, the family is required to go through a judicial process to obtain a certificate. For households already facing financial hardship, the costs, distance, administrative complexity, and unfamiliarity with the courts can make this process seem impossible.

AFJN and its partners have been working to close this gap by bringing judicial services closer to communities. Through mobile courts, families can access legal mechanisms without having to make repeated, costly trips to distant courts or navigate procedures alone.

The need is especially acute in Cameroon’s West Region, where poverty, limited access to administrative services, and the arrival of internally displaced families have increased the number of children without legal documentation.

Many displaced families fled the crisis in the Northwest and Southwest Regions after losing homes and personal documents. Others gave birth after displacement without knowing that a child’s birth can still be legally established through testimony from witnesses and judicial procedures.

During this event, Mayor Lengou Soule emphasized the importance of AFJN’s support and the scale of the response in Foumbot:

“We were fortunate to find the Africa Faith and Justice Network association, which came to give us much-appreciated support. Today, we are at our fourth mobile court session. We have already been able to establish nearly 3,000 birth certificates.”

He also underscored the continuing challenges faced by internally displaced people:

“Their documents were burned, and they no longer know what to do. They give birth to children and do not know that, through witnesses, it is possible to establish their children’s birth certificates. They have been here for more than four years, this problem persists, and we continue to monitor it.”

Building a Lasting Response

Foumbot became one of AFJN Cameroon’s target communities after a field assessment identified a substantial number of children without birth certificates. The July 14 ceremony marked the fourth mobile court session organized in the municipality. Madame Ferrancide Massa stressed that the project’s results are already contributing to wider momentum around civil registration:

“This project has produced results that have inspired the other organizations involved in the civil-registration chain. Last year, we established 600 birth certificates for children. In Ngaoundéré, approximately 300 birth certificates are currently being processed. Now, in Foumbot, 307 birth certificates have been established. Our actions and the proposals we have made contributed to the recent legal reform.”

Alongside efforts to assist children who already lack documentation though mobile courts, the organization is supporting Strategic Monitoring Committees that bring together traditional leaders, civil-registration officials, and other local stakeholders. These committees conduct awareness-raising activities in neighbourhoods and work with families to encourage the timely registration of newborn children.

“We conducted an awareness campaign through the Strategic Monitoring Committee established with this NGO,” Mayor Lengou Soule said. “It enabled us to go into neighbourhoods and work with traditional leaders to raise parents’ awareness about obtaining birth certificates. Today, this need is beginning to decline, and we intend to continue in this direction.”

The Work Must Continue

The handover of 307 birth certificates is an important achievement, but it is not the end of the work. Many children and adults in Foumbot and other communities still lack legal documentation, while judicial and administrative barriers continue to discourage some parents from pursuing the process.

As the Mayor noted, “for the cases already identified, much remains to be done.” He added that parents often face significant difficulties within the justice system and that judicial obstacles can deter families from going to court.

AFJN’s work in Foumbot demonstrates that legal identity is not simply a civil-status matter. It is a matter of dignity, inclusion, and rights. By bringing justice closer to families and supporting stronger local systems for registration, AFJN and its partners are helping ensure that more children are recognized, protected, and able to pursue their future.