A new bureau led by Douglas Achingale was officially elected on Sunday, 27th of April 2025, in Yaounde.
The election of new executives to lead the Cameroon National Association of Social Workers marks a turning point in the profession of social work in Cameroon.
Boosting social work in Cameroon
Douglas Achingale, incumbent candidate, was elected with 88 votes and challenged Annie Pascaline Sandjo, who secured 33 votes out of the 123 voters registered.
After the elective general assembly held at the National School of Magistracy (Enam), the new leader expressed his willingness to overcome all the various challenges faced by social workers in the country.
Douglas Achingale said: “Our aim has been to lay down a concrete foundation for the Cameroon National Association of Social Workers, that exists since 2012, and we have been able to work for six months already. We organized an extraordinary assembly on the 5th of October 2024, and we had a small mandate to prepare this elective general assembly…We have a lot of work to do. We know that our association has been sick for many decades, and so this is the time real work begins with the new executives. We should not only be glad that we have won, but we should instead be serious and focus on the objectives assigned and make strong decisions to work harder.”
He added: “We should work so that the social work corps in Cameroon should become dependable in the future.”
The national executive committee put in place is made up of 16 members.
The various positions are those of a president, four vice-presidents, one Secretary General, one deputy Secretary General, one treasurer, two statutory auditors, a communication and public relations officer, a project manager, and four advisers.
The elective general assembly, chaired by Rodolphe Soh, Technical Adviser number 1 in the Ministry of Social Affairs, said this organ is out to boost efforts dedicated to social workers.
Acting as spokesperson of the Minister of Social Affairs, Mr. Soh said a social worker is someone devoted to the well-being of vulnerable persons and who works for the interest of social development.
Social work, key asset of development
Social work is a profession based on the principles of Human Rights and social justice. It works for social change through the resolution of problems of human relations, autonomy, and freedom of individuals with a view to improving their lives.
A social worker is any professional practitioner of the social action professions who has completed at least 2 years of training in a public school or an approved institution for professional training in social service and holds a diploma in the following specialties.
It has been clearly outlined that social work aims to promote social change, solving problems in the context of human relationships, to improve the well-being of the individual, the family, the group, and society as a whole.
According to the general provisions, the Cameroon National Association of Social Workers is a corporatist, non-political, secular and non-profit-making organization governed by Law N°90/053 of December 1990 on freedom of association in the country, as well as by the articles that were put in place for its smooth functioning.
As indicated, the association proscribes all forms of discrimination within its ranks.
The General Elective assembly held within two days brought together officials from the Ministry of Social Affairs, Women’s Empowerment and the Family.
Elise Kenimbeni
