IntroductionArticle 25 of the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights (UNDHR) legitimizes the socio-economic rights of citizens of all nations as stated below: Everyone has the right to an adequate standard of living. for the health and well-being of himself and his family, including food, clothing, housing, medical care and necessary social services, as well as the right to security in the event of unemployment, illness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of means of subsistence in circumstances beyond his control” (Hartley Dean; 2004). The human subject is endemically vulnerable and to survive, he needs an organized collective mechanism of cooperation and mutual support (Hartley Dean; 2004). To manage this endemic vulnerability, human subjects form this organized collective mechanism that they call governments and which would be responsible for fostering and regulating this mutual cooperation and support (well-being). It is this process of increasing role of the state or government in social protection (Gladstone; 2000) that gave rise to the concept of the welfare state. Gladstone (2000) traced the foundations of the modern welfare state (at least in British politics) to the period between 1884 and 1914. For him, this period witnessed a crucial shift both in ideas and in actions, because she saw “a renegotiation of the relationship between the State and the citizen in terms of social protection and well-being. And during this renegotiation, many questions were raised, which became essential elements of 20th century politics…” He cites these questions among which1. Relations between central government and local authorities;2. The financing of an expanding State and the weight of taxation;3. The rights and responsibilities of citizens...... middle of paper ......nts were compensated for the loss of the breadwinner. Although there is no precise statistical data on the number of people who benefited from social security schemes under Ahidjo, payment of benefits was rapid. Civil servants' salaries were also paid on time and administrative "bottlenecks" that made payments slow and time-consuming were eliminated. School dropout was also very low because poverty remained low. Parents could afford to sponsor their children to school and provide them with their basic necessities. Lack of early pregnancy, financial viability and good health are some of the reasons for the relatively low dropout rate during the 1970s. College and higher education were free with scholarships covering the accommodation ; allowances, food and allowance. There was the distribution of milk; rice and vegetable oils in postnatal clinics.