Page 8 Life expectancy in Cameroon varies greatly according to gender - 59 years for women (59 per cent of the population) and 54.5 for men. According to the Government‟s Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP), four out of 10 Cameroonians live below the poverty line (less than a dollar a day). This updated strategy paper takes into account the complexity of the social problems and the new possibilities offered by multilateral and bilateral debt relief. Cameroon is a secular State, which guarantees religious freedoms (Preamble of the country‟s Constitution, Act 96-06 of 18 January 1996 on the revised Constitution of 2 June 1972). The largest religious groups are Catholics, Protestants and Muslims. There is also a large proportion of so-called “awakened” groups, made up of Pentecostals. However, many Cameroonians practise ancestral worship. B. Political Structure Cameroon is a Unitary Republic with a semi-presidential regime and power separation between the executive, legislature and judiciary. - The President of the Republic and Head of State is head of the executive. He is elected by the country by direct universal suffrage for a term of seven years. He symbolizes national unity. He sees to compliance with the constitution and the republican institutions; he defines the nation‟s policy, appoints government and the various functions of sovereignty; he sees to arbitration to ensure harmonious functioning of the organs of State. He is the guarantor of national independence and the nation‟s integrity; he ensures the continuity and permanence of the State, compliance with treaties, conventions and international agreements ratified and signed by Cameroon. - Per article 14 of Act 96-06 of 18 January 1996 on the revision of the 1972 constitution, the two houses of Parliament, the National Assembly and Senate, shall exercise legislative power. Act 2004/017 of 22 July 2004 on orientation and decentralization is a clear step toward the establishment of institutions set up by the constitution. - Justice is rendered by the country on behalf of the Cameroonian people. The Supreme Court, the courts of appeal and tribunals exercise judicial power. The judiciary is independent of the legislature and executive (cf. Article 37 of the Constitution). The administrative system is broken down into central government, the deconcentrated authorities and decentralized authorities. Under article 55 of the Constitution, the decentralized territorial authorities are the regions and municipalities and per decree