Cameroonian Peacebuilder Esther Omam Earns PhD, Receives Honorary Doctorate for Leadership

Cameroonian peacebuilder and humanitarian leader Esther Omam has received two distinctions within one month, marking a new chapter in a career spanning nearly three decades of humanitarian action, conflict mediation, women’s empowerment and community development.

Omam completed a research-based Doctor of Philosophy in Diplomacy and Conflict Management at Selinus University of Sciences and Literature. She subsequently received an honorary doctorate in Leadership and International Business Management from Universal Blockchain University, which identifies itself as an institution based in Florida, United States.

The honorary distinction was presented during the SDG Summit Cameroon 2026 by Professor Yota Louis Fomba, representing Universal Blockchain University. According to information issued following the ceremony, representatives of the Littoral Governor’s Office, the Wouri Senior Divisional Officer and the Ministry of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises, Social Economy and Handicrafts were also present.

Although announced together, the two recognitions are different. The PhD was awarded following academic research, while the honorary doctorate recognises Omam’s leadership and public service. An honorary doctorate is a distinction and not the equivalent of an earned academic qualification.

Researching women’s role in Cameroon’s conflict

Omam’s doctoral thesis, titled “The Indispensable Role of Women in Conflict Resolution: The Case of Cameroon’s Anglophone Crisis,” examines the contribution women have made—and could make—to efforts to resolve the conflict in Cameroon’s Northwest and Southwest Regions.

The research explores women’s participation in peace and mediation processes, the barriers preventing them from influencing formal negotiations and the measures governments, security institutions, lawmakers and development partners can take to make peacebuilding more inclusive.

Its central argument is that women should not be seen only as victims of conflict or recipients of humanitarian assistance. They are also negotiators, community organisers, first responders and mediators whose proximity to affected communities gives them knowledge that formal peace processes often overlook.

The study comes amid continued calls for women to be given greater representation in decisions concerning Cameroon’s Anglophone conflict. Women-led organisations have repeatedly worked across community, linguistic and political divisions, even when they have remained largely absent from the rooms where major decisions are taken.

Under Omam’s leadership, Reach Out Cameroon has supported grassroots women peacebuilders and helped connect their experiences with national and international advocacy platforms. The Women’s Peace and Humanitarian Fund identifies her as a civil society board member and credits her organisation with creating spaces for women to strengthen their skills, networks and participation in peace processes.

Her research proposes practical recommendations for integrating such community-level experience into broader conflict-resolution and peacebuilding structures.

From humanitarian response to mediation

Omam is best known as Executive Director of Reach Out Cameroon, a women-led civil society organisation working with women, children, young people and conflict-affected communities.

Reach Out began operating in 1996, initially focusing on development, health and community assistance. Its work expanded significantly after the Anglophone crisis escalated and displaced large numbers of people across the Northwest and Southwest.

As humanitarian needs grew, Omam and her team began delivering food, health assistance, dignity kits and other support to displaced people, including in communities that were difficult or dangerous for larger organisations to access.

Her work subsequently moved beyond emergency assistance into conflict mediation. The International Civil Society Action Network reports that she negotiated humanitarian access to remote conflict-affected communities and, in 2019, participated in efforts that persuaded leaders of armed separatist groups to end a three-year restriction on schooling.

She also initiated the South West North West Women’s Task Force, bringing together women-led organisations to advocate for an end to the violence and greater participation by women in peace efforts.

Omam has argued throughout her career that sustainable peace cannot be imposed exclusively from political offices or military command structures. It must also be built through communities and with the involvement of those who understand how conflict affects families, livelihoods, education and relations between neighbours.

Her doctoral research now places that experience within a wider academic discussion about diplomacy, conflict transformation and the global Women, Peace and Security agenda.

Recognition of practical leadership

While the PhD focuses on Omam’s academic contribution, the honorary doctorate was presented in recognition of her work in leadership, humanitarian service, women’s empowerment, youth development and entrepreneurship.

The award also recognises her efforts to strengthen institutions, mentor emerging leaders and promote enterprise as a pathway out of dependency.

Speaking after receiving the distinction, Omam said the two honours carried different but complementary meanings.

“I receive these honours with profound gratitude and humility. The earned PhD represents years of research, sacrifice and scholarship, while the honorary doctorate reflects the confidence that others have placed in my leadership and service.”

She dedicated the recognitions to women, young people, humanitarian workers, entrepreneurs and peacebuilders working under difficult conditions.

“Leadership is meaningful only when it inspires others to rise, serve, innovate and build,” she said.

Omam also used the occasion to challenge African leaders and institutions to invest more deliberately in human capacity, entrepreneurship and locally generated solutions.

“Africa’s greatest resource is not beneath our soil but within our people. We must move from dependence to enterprise, from waiting for opportunities to creating them, and from individual success to collective prosperity.”

Building on international recognition

The latest distinctions add to several previous international recognitions for Omam’s peacebuilding and humanitarian work.

In 2023, she was named one of three winners of the Global Pluralism Award, which recognised her efforts to mobilise women and young people while promoting dialogue and inclusion in Cameroon.

That same year, she joined Sally Mboumien and Marthe Wandou in receiving the German Africa Award on behalf of the First National Women’s Convention for Peace in Cameroon. The German Africa Foundation highlighted Omam’s work negotiating humanitarian access and advancing women’s participation in conflict resolution.

In 2019, she testified at the United Nations Security Council on Cameroon’s humanitarian crisis, drawing international attention to the experiences of people living in conflict-affected communities. Her peacebuilding work has also exposed her and members of her organisation to threats and other security risks.

Omam currently serves as Executive Director of Reach Out Cameroon and Managing Director of Kites & Others. She is also a civil society board member of the Women’s Peace and Humanitarian Fund, Country Chair of the G100 Mentoring and Motivation Wing in Cameroon, Vice Chair of the Continental Network of Women Business Associations in Africa, and a member of the Grand Sawa Forum Technical Secretariat.

She is additionally associated with the National Women’s Convention for Peace, the Community Women Peace Mediators initiative and several continental and international mediation networks.

For Omam, the latest recognitions are not presented as the culmination of her work but as a renewed responsibility to use scholarship and leadership in service of others.

“Knowledge gives us the capacity to lead. Service gives leadership its purpose. Together, they become a force that transforms lives, communities and nations.”

MMI News