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VOL. 12, ISSUE 11 (2025)
An assessment of the impact of separatist-imposed ghost towns and lockdowns on the development of the Anglophone regions of Cameroon
Authors
Ndaneseh Derick Ndenkeh
Abstract
Despite their wide implementation since the
COVID-19 pandemic, lockdowns are not spatial interventions unique to public
health emergencies but have also recently been used to tackle the aftermath of
acts of terrorism against crowded public spaces in cities. Lockdown, as a
state-sanctioned security measure, bears longer political (often violent)
histories that link individual mobility to geopolitics in corporeal and even
visceral ways. This paper assesses the impact of separatists-imposed ghost
towns and lockdowns on the development of the two Anglophone regions of
Cameroon. A major concern about this downturn is that its impacts span a longer
horizon, threatening to erase much of the progress made towards eliminating
poverty. Prior to the Cameroon Anglophone conflict, the two regions were marked
by a slowdown of economic growth, unemployment and poverty. In agriculture,
farmers were faced with broken supply chains, lack of market outlets, poor
demand and falling output prices. Micro and small enterprises are the most
acutely affected. The Cameroon Anglophone conflict has affected all levels of
society within the two regions. This research made use of the secondary method
of data collection to describe the existing situation. Separatists-imposed
lockdowns and school closures have significantly disrupted the daily lives of
children and adolescents, restricted freedom of movement, online learning, and
limited or no physical social interaction with their peers. Despite the
potential for greater connection within families, this isolation also risks
loss of peer support and community networks, education and learning, social
isolation and uncertainty about the future.
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Pages:12-18
How to cite this article:
Ndaneseh Derick Ndenkeh "An assessment of the impact of separatist-imposed ghost towns and lockdowns on the development of the Anglophone regions of Cameroon". International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research and Development, Vol 12, Issue 11, 2025, Pages 12-18
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