18 votes

Cameroon starts world-first malaria mass vaccine rollout

2 comments

  1. [2]
    KapteinB
    Link
    He's a what? A Cameroonian king? They have several kings? The guy doesn't even seem to have a Wikipedia article!

    "When people say we are being used as guinea pigs, that's not particularly true," Wilfred Fon Mbacham, who is a Cameroonian king and also a professor of public health biotechnology specialising in malaria, told BBC Newsday.

    He's a what? A Cameroonian king? They have several kings? The guy doesn't even seem to have a Wikipedia article!

    4 votes
    1. cfabbro
      (edited )
      Link Parent
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fon_(title) So it seems like they're not quite the same as the kings/queens acting as heads of monarchal States in Europe. They're regional hereditary rulers/leaders...

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fon_(title)

      A Fon is a chieftain or king of a region of Cameroon, especially among the Ngie, Widikum, Tikar, and Bamiléké peoples of the Bamenda grass fields (the Northwest, West Region) and the Lebialem of the South West Region. Following the defeat of Germany in World War I, the Fons of British Cameroon came under British rule, and the Fons of French Cameroon came under French rule. Since Cameroon's independence in 1961, the Fons are under the jurisdiction of the Government of Cameroon. However, they maintain semi-autonomous union councils and jurisdiction over their hereditary land.

      So it seems like they're not quite the same as the kings/queens acting as heads of monarchal States in Europe. They're regional hereditary rulers/leaders of the various tribes/ethnic groups in Cameroon.

      More on the various Fons:
      https://theafricanroyalfamilies.com/2023/08/06/traditional-kings-in-cameroon/

      And yeah, it's kind of a shame how little information there is on the internet about Cameroon in general. Even their main Wikipedia page is incredibly sparse.

      4 votes