Yaoundé

Yaoundé
Panoramic, Caisse Nationale de Prévoyance Sociale building, Ministère de l'éducation building, Bank of Central African States building, Independence square, day over in the city, Yaoundé Sports Palace, Musée National du Cameroun and Centre Pasteur
UTC+1 (CEST )

Yaoundé (UK: /jɑːˈʊndeɪ, -ˈuːn-/;^[2] US: /ˌjɑːʊnˈdeɪ/, French pronunciation: [ja.unde]) is the capital of Cameroon and, with a population of more than 2.8 million, the second-largest city in the country after the port city Douala. It lies in the Centre Region of the nation at an elevation of about 750 metres (2,500 ft) above sea level.

The outpost of Epsumb or Jeundo was founded between the

The earliest inhabitants of Cameroon were likely the Bakas (pygmies). They still inhabit the forests of the south and east provinces. Bantu speakers originating in the Cameroonian highlands were among the first groups to move out before other invaders. During the late 1770s and early 1800s, the Fulani—a pastoral Islamic people of the western Sahel—conquered most of what is now northern Cameroon, subjugating or displacing its largely non-Muslim inhabitants.

The outpost of Epsumb or Jeundo was founded between the

Most of Yaoundé's economy is centred on the administrative structure of the civil service and the diplomatic services. Owing to these high-profile central structures, Yaounde has a higher standard of living and security than the rest of Cameroon.

Major industries in Yaoundé include

Local residents engage in urban agriculture. The city is estimated to have "50,000 pigs and over a million chickens."^[10]

In 2010, under Mayor Jean Claude Adjessa Melingui, Yaoundé began a flood reduction project, the Yaoundé City Sanitation Master Plan, to deal with "severe floods [that] disrupted the city 15 to 20 times a year, affecting as many as 100,000 people at a time." After four years, the frequency of flooding had been reduced from fifteen to three times a year, and cases of water-borne diseases such as

Despite the security issues and humanitarian crises that have plagued the central African nation, its economy remains stable. In fact, there is diversification of its productive economic activities, with the services sector contributing about half of the total domestic production.^[11] However, like many African countries, Cameroon has long suffered from corruption, which dominates almost all the sectors, particularly in the capital city. Oil, gas and mining revenues are rarely reported, which implies massive graft.^[12] In addition, there is weak protection of real and intellectual property, and the judicial system is vulnerable to political manipulation.

According to Yaoundé City Council data, over 130 floods struck the city between 1980 and 2014, causing massive loss of life and economic damage. However, there has been a reduction of flooding in the city since the establishment of a sanitation master plan to address the issue.^[13] Another measure was to relocate people living along the drainage routes and in low-lying flood zones.

Architecture

The city centre houses government offices, some hotels, and the central market. The Bastos district, with most homes owned by Cameroonians, is home to foreign embassies and the expatriate European, American and other continental communities (drawn mainly from the diplomatic corps). The presidential palace and compound are in the Etoudi district.

Also found in Yaoundé are:

• the Reunification Monument
• the Sport Palace (Palais des Sports)
• Palais des Congrès

There is a small zoo in the Mvog-Betsi neighbourhood. Yaoundé has a small assortment of Pubs, nightclubs and restaurants.

A distance outside Yaoundé is the NGO Ape Action Africa, which rescues and rehabilitates Great Apes threatened with extinction by the illegal bushmeat and deforestation trades.

• 
  Yaoundé Unity Palace – Cameroon Presidency
• 
  Cameroon National Museum
• 
  Yaoundé Sport Palace
• 
  Palais des Congrès
• 
  The Ministry of Finance
• 
  The Central Market
• 
  Mfoundi market
• 
  A view of a Yaoundé suburb
• 
  Independence square Cameroon

Culture

• the Cameroon Art Museum (located in a former
  Benedictine monastery
  )
• the Cameroon National Museum (located in the former presidential palace)
• the Blackitude Museum
• the Afhemi Museum
• The Yaoundé Municipal Lake
• The Mvog-Betsi Zoo-Botanic Park
• The Congress Centre in Tsinga

Places of worship

The

Yaoundé features a tropical wet and dry climate (Aw), and it is thermally equatorial rather than tropical, with a narrow range of monthly temperatures throughout the year. However, primarily due to the altitude, temperatures are not quite as hot as one would expect for a city located near the equator. Yaoundé features a lengthy wet season, covering a ten-month span between March and November. However, there is a noticeable decrease in precipitation within the wet season, seen during the months of July and August, almost giving the city the appearance of having two separate rainy seasons; this is because the city is only slightly north of the equator. It is primarily due to the relative lull in precipitation during these two months that Yaoundé features a tropical wet and dry climate, as opposed to a tropical monsoon climate.

Transport

Two trans-African automobile routes pass through Yaoundé:

• Tripoli-Cape Town Highway

• Lagos-Mombasa Highway

Many bus companies operate from the city; particularly in the Nsam and Mvan districts.[18] Frequent buses run on the road between Yaoundé and Douala, which has witnessed several fatal accidents. Travel time by road between Douala and Yaounde is approximately 3 hours. Traffic in the city can be heavy during weekdays, but is very light during the weekends. Yaoundé has made significant progress in infrastructure, especially road construction.

Yaoundé Nsimalen International Airport is a major civilian hub, while nearby Yaoundé Airport is used by the military.

Education

Cameroon is a bilingual country, where English and French are both official languages; therefore in the city there is a coexistence of French educational system schools, where the degree giving access to university is the

There are three American schools in Cameroon, the American School of Yaounde (ASOY) and Rain Forest International School (RFIS), and the American School of Douala (ASD). There is also one Turkish School, The Amity College/School.

Yaoundé is the site of several universities: the University of Yaoundé II (on a campus outside of town), the Protestant University of Central Africa (UPAC) and the Catholic University of Central Africa (UCAC). Several of the nation's professional schools are also located in Yaounde (Higher Teacher's training college, École Militaire InterArmes du Cameroun) as well as various schools for Engineers (Polytech), Doctors (CUSS), Nurses and Diplomats.

Healthcare

The largest hospital is the

Sports

The national

Yaoundé is also the base for the National Institute of Youth and Sport (INJS); this school trains government workers who will be in charge of sport all across the country during their career.

Joel Embiid, center for the Philadelphia 76ers, and Luc Mbah a Moute, who was a forward for the Los Angeles Clippers are from Yaoundé, as are Samuel Umtiti, a footballer for the national team of France and FC Barcelona, Breel Embolo, a footballer for AS Monaco FC and Vincent Aboubakar, a footballer for Porto.

Notable people

• Pierre Hervé Ateme Elanga, Cameroonian former professional footballer
• Jean-Pierre Bekolo, born in Yaoundé, film director
• Jeanne-Louise Djanga, poet, novelist and choreographer
• outside linebacker for the Atlanta Falcons
• Joel Embiid, Professional basketball player, Philadelphia 76ers
• Breel Embolo, Swiss professional footballer
• Jeando Fuchs, born in Yaoundé professional footballer for English club Peterborough United.
• Charles Minlend, professional basketball player, 2003 Israeli Basketball Premier League MVP
• UFC
  Heavyweight Champion
• Achille Njanke, Cameroonian footballer
• Ngando Pickett, Cameroonian football fan
• Youssoufa Moukoko, German Professional footballer

• Samuel Umtiti, French Professional footballer

References

Bibliography

See also: Bibliography of the history of Yaoundé

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External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Yaoundé.

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Yaoundé.

• Image of Yaoundé from Google Earth