A group of street children from Côte d'Ivoire stands around a woman tasked with helping the “microbe” gangs out of their current situation. Screenshot from the video ”Massendjé, the Microbe Mom” on the Droit Libre TV YouTube Channel

Throughout French-speaking Africa, street children are an all-too-common phenomenon. Although different names are used to describe these children, they all refer to the same precarious reality.

In 2021, the International Catholic Child Bureau (BICE) reported there were over 120 million street children worldwide, including 30 million in Africa. In 2025, this figure is estimated to reach 35 million in Africa. Although this phenomenon should concern African governments, many seem to be ignoring this reality in their development policies.

There are many reasons why children end up on the streets. Humanium, an international NGO based in Switzerland working for a world where children’s rights are protected, defended, and enforced, stated:

…des enfants se retrouvent sans logement et sont forcés à se débrouiller par eux-mêmes dans les rues pour de nombreuses raisons, principalement la pauvreté, les guerres, les violences et la maltraitance antérieure, l’exploitation et le désespoir.

Children are often left homeless and forced to fend for themselves on the streets for many reasons, such as poverty, wars, violence, past abuse, exploitation, and desperation.

In some communities, there is also socio-cultural discrimination where children are wrongly accused of witchcraft and thrown out of their homes.

This economic and social marginalization gives rise to different names and associations in various French-speaking African countries.

“Mboko” in Cameroon

In Cameroon, the word “Mboko” is used to describe street children. It’s short for the expression Nanga-boko in Duala, a language spoken in Douala (the economic capital of Cameroon). This term combines the words nanga (sleep) and éboko (outside). Nanga-boko is, therefore, used to describe children who sleep outside on the streets. In a WhatsApp interview with Global Voices, Jean Samuel Njock, a member of the Cameroonian diaspora in Europe, explained the broader origin of this name:

L'appellation Nanga-boko fait suite aux migrations du nord vers le sud de milliers d’enfants orphelins délinquants ou sans abris qui quittent Ngaoundéré (ville située au nord du pays) en passant par l’est du pays puis la ville de Nanga-eboko (situé au centre du pays) jusqu'à la capitale Yaoundé où ils forment de grands groupes de délinquants liés à la consommation de stupéfiants. Cesenfants de rue sont aussi à l’origine du Mbolé qui est un style musical camerounais.

The name Nanga-boko comes from the north-south migration of thousands of delinquent, orphaned, or homeless children. They depart Ngaoundéré (a city in the north of the country), pass through the east, and Nanga-eboko in the center to reach Yaoundé (the capital city), where they form large networks of drug dealers. Street children are also at the heart of Mbolé, a Cameroonian music genre.

Here is an example of an Mbolé song by the Elang City group called Toaster Le Yamo.

The video caption provides a nuanced explanation for this song about street children:

…”Toaster Le Yamo”, est une chanson d'animation qui aborde avec force et sincérité les réalités quotidiennes des jeunes confrontés au chômage. Contrairement à certaines idées reçues, cette chanson ne fait pas l’apologie de la drogue, mais dénonce plutôt les défis que beaucoup de jeunes rencontrent aujourd'hui.

‘Toaster Le Yamo’ is a song that truthfully and powerfully depicts the everyday realities of unemployed youths. Contrary to popular belief, this song doesn’t defend drugs, but denounces the challenges many young people face today.

Read: A discussion on words: Episode #26

“Shégué” in the DRC

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), “Shégué” has the same meaning. “Shégué” is a Lingala word, one of the national languages in the DRC, used to describe street children. Typically, their families abandon or reject them because they are unable meet their basic needs, or in fear of witchcraft.

For the shégués, any means of survival will do. Many of them are involved in acts of extreme violence, joining armed gangs who steal from, violate, torment, and kill citizens in Kinshasa, the capital of the country. Today, these youth gangs, known as “Kulunas,” are part of a social crime phenomenon.

Read: DRC: Government implements death penalty to combat youth gang phenomenon

“Microbe” in Côte d'Ivoire

In Côte d’Ivoire, child gangs are called “microbes.” Instead of getting an education and enjoying their childhood, these children must support their families before adulthood. Using extreme violence, they are often involved in armed robberies and killings, especially in Abidjan, the capital of Côte d'Ivoire.

A documentary called Abidjan’s Microbes: How did Côte d’Ivoire Abandon Its Youth?, paints a striking picture:

The French-language magazine Jeune Afrique also reported that these youths played a significant role in the 2021 political crisis that shook Côte d'Ivoire, resulting in former President Laurent Gbagbo’s arrest (2000–2010).

The “microbe” phenomenon in Côte d'Ivoire caught the attention of Alex Ogou, a French-Ivorian director, who made a television series called “Invisibles” to highlight the struggles of street children.

Here is a clip from this series:

In an interview with radio network France Info in 2018, Ogou stated what he had learned about these children:

Ces enfants sont issus des classes les plus défavorisées de la société dans leur grande majorité. Mais il y a aussi, parmi eux, des gamins qui appartiennent à des foyers stables et qui, la nuit tombée, rejoignent les rangs des microbes. Conclusion: que vous soyez riche ou pauvre, le regard ou le non-regard porté sur les enfants reste déterminant. Le dénominateur commun est d'être des enfants délaissés, abandonnés par leurs parents ou livrés à eux-mêmes.

These children are primarily from the most disadvantaged strata of society. However,  there are also kids among them who belong to stable homes but join the microbes when night falls. Conclusion: whether rich or poor, the attention paid or not paid to children is a determining factor. The common denominator is that they are all children abandoned by their families or left to their own devices.

The struggle to halt this phenomenon is far from over. Despite implementing several civil society initiatives, ensuring children’s dignity and security in urban areas remains challenging.