The Akwaya region's acute lack of basic amenities such as health centres and personnel, sanitation facilities, and unsafe drinking water presents serious health challenges. These are further intensified by the high incidence of malaria and HIV/AIDS.  FORUDEF has been involved in responding to these needs in a number of ways, namely, through HIV/AIDS preventative education, the distribution of anti-malarial products, assistance to orphans and vulnerable children of HIV/AIDS and their caregivers, and small-scale improvement to sanitation facilities, such as the establishment of community pit latrines.  FORUDEF is also pioneering the first nutrition program in the area, with the aim of significantly decreasing malnutrition and deficiency-related illnesses,  
especially amongst children.

Beekeeping is a sustainable, environmentally friendly, organic and viable way for communties to earn extra income in the Southwest. The Southwest province offers a huge, and mostly untapped, potential for honey production, and FORUDEF has made this a prime area of targeted growth. FORUDEF, in partnership with Bees Abroad UK, has encouraged and facilitated the growth of beekeeping in many communities throughout Akwaya and the Buea region. FORUDEF has implemented many workshops on training individuals to become successful beekeepers, and capable of training others to follow in the trade. FORUDEF has supplied hives to start-up projects, and the tools neccessary to maintain a thriving beekeeping operation.

The Agri-credit Fund (AGRICREF) is the micro-financing division of FORUDEF, established in 2006 to provide credit, micro-finance, business training and support to communities and Common Initiative Groups in the Southwest. AGRICREF has supported and facilitated many entrepreneurial initiatives, with an exclusive focus on environmentally friendly and sustainable projects and an emphasis on partnering with women.

The dense forests of the Akwaya region are a source of livelihood and resources for its residents.  However, the over-use of forest products such as timber and wild crops, as well as harmful cultivation practices, specifically, slash and burn clearing, threatens the natural environment.  FORUDEF promotes the wise use of land and forest products, and encourages sustainable clearing and harvesting through training in new techniques while raising awareness of these resources finite nature.  FORUDEF emphasizes the importance of protecting native animal species and highlights their essential role in the ecosystem. In dealing with logging companies and other regional stakeholders, FORUDEF advocates for local rights to forest management, while advising communities on the accessing and wise use of timber royalties.

Agriculture is the backbone of local communities in the Southwest; however, in the majority of villages it is very rudimentary and most farmers function out of a position of subsistence. FORUDEF shares resources, information and expertise with farmers with the goal of improving crop yields while also encouraging the implementation of sustainable farming techniques. FORUDEF has conducted many workshops and training sessions focused on this objective, and continues to offer on-site instruction in sustainable agriculture practices.

FORUDEF assists in the formation of Common Initiative Groups in the communities in which it works, to encourage economic development and increased entrepreneurial activity through collective action. FORUDEF also offers business training, group dynamics instruction, and technical advice to enable the creation of successful groups and sound investment strategies. FORUDEF is also partnering with communities in Akwaya, in terms of funding and the provision of materials and information, in the creation of small-scale income generating operations. 

As of September 2011, FORUDEF has obtained a permanent partnership with Golbal Giving as a result of meeting the requirements set out in the August 2011 Open Challenge. FORUDEF used Global Giving's online donation site to raise enough money to implement an income generation project in Ote village. Global Giving acts as an online marketplace for grassroots NGOs to obtain support from individual donors around the world. FORUDEF will continue to post projects on the Global Giving site, with the goal of raising funds from the international community of individuals focused on empowering grassroots change.

The Cameroonian government, in partnership with the European Union, initiated PASOC to strengthen civil society organizations in Cameroon.  Since 2009, PASOC had aided FORUDEF through the provision of technical, structural and organizational advice and assistance. PASOC has collaborated with FORUDEF to develop a specific area of intervention and a strategic plan to accomplish these objectives. PASOC has also provided FORUDEF with valuable training in the areas of advocacy and fundraising, and has funded FORUDEF's efforts to encourage the good governance of forest resources in the Akwaya region. PASOC has also funded, FORUDEF led, training and advocacy programs throughout the Southwest.

Since 2009, Bees Abroad has provided valuable expertise, materials, and financial resources to encouraging the growth and development of beekeeping in the Southwest. FORUDEF has formed a strong partnership with Bees Abroad in that time, and has seen significant increases the amount and quality of honey produced in the area. 

The Cameroonian government, in partnership with the World Bank, developed the PNDP project to encourage the fight against poverty in Cameroon at the grass-roots level. The project attempts to address the issues of grass-roots development by focusing on 5 specific areas: agricultural and pastoral development, the environment, water and forests, agronomic research, and protection of civil society.
FORUDEF is currently partnering with the PNDP to strengthen grass-roots responses to poverty in the Akwaya sub-division.

The German Development Service has partnered with FORUDEF through the provision of volunteers and technical expertise. Past projects have focused on the development of beekeeping in the Southwest and the promotion of agro-forestry in the region. 

The Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife, through the Program for the Sustainable Management of Natural Resources for the Southwest, has worked with FORUDEF to promote non-timber forest products management and capacity building throughout the Southwest region, especially in Akwaya. The Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife has provided training, technical services and strategic advice towards the promotion of sustainable development initiatives.

OSIWA and FORUDEF partnered together to provide support to HIV/AIDS orphans and vulnerable people in rural communities in the Southwest. The program focused on limiting the effects of HIV/AIDS in local communities, while also providing assistance to those most affected by its presence.