Dear Friends, Fellow Cameroonians, happy 20th May Anniversary.
It is an honor to join you all today to celebrate the 37th anniversary of our great nation, Cameroon. I will like to thank Lady Kate Njuema for inviting me to give this brief remark on health issues in Cameroon.
As the old song “Hotel of California” so rightly states, you can check out of the Hotel but can not leave. So, we can all be residing outside of Cameroon but we are all Cameroonians at heart, and do not need to belong to any political party to contribute to nation building. I owe no loyalty to any political party in Cameroon. It is, therefore, in this framework that I will be making my brief remarks this evening
According to the People’s Health Charter, health is a social, economic and political issue, and above all a fundamental human right issue. Health is primarily determined by the political, economic, social and physical environment and should with equity and just development be a priority in policy making at all levels. Like most countries in sub-Sahara Africa, Cameroon, with an estimated population of 18 million inhabitants, faces a huge burden of diseases ranging from tropical infections, emerging infectious diseases, to chronic illness, previously restricted to developed countries. I will like to share with you some numbers that would provide insights into the disease and health burden in Cameroon.
Life expectancy is about 50 years.
Maternal mortality rate is 730 per 100,000 live births.
Infant mortality rate is about 87 per 1,000 live births
Total expenditure on health a % of GDP is 5.2%
Physician density per 10,000 inhabitants is 2
Coverage for Vaccine Preventable Diseases is low
Infectious diseases are taking a toll on the population: the prevalence rate of tuberculosis in 2006 is 236.8 per 100,000 inhabitants, and the prevalence of HIV in the general population is estimated at 5.3%
Chronic diseases and road traffic injuries are on the rise; with an estimated 15 - 20% of the population in the urban areas is hypertensive, a proportion that has up to now been seen only in developed countries. Moreover, about 6% of the population is diabetic. It is predicted that by 2020, road traffic injuries may rank very high among causes of disability-adjusted life years lost in Cameroon due to the upsurge in the number of vehicles per inhabitant.
Against this background and challenges, the government of Cameroon has committed to providing quality healthcare to the people. For instance, over 60, 000 HIV-infected people are presently receiving life saving antiretroviral drugs, thanks to the support of the Global Fund for AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria. This is a remarkable achievement given the limited number of partners that have provided technical assistance to Cameroon in this effort. In addition, compared to other countries in Central Africa, Cameroon ranks high in terms of the number of well trained and qualified healthcare workers.
Despite these efforts, there are still many worries when one takes a critical look at the health system in Cameroon.
It worries me that Cameroon has not created an enabling environment to meet Millennium Development Goals 7 and 8 for health (reduction of child mortality & the improvement of maternal heath, and the fight against HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases).
It worries me that Cameroon is not modernizing its health sector fast enough to meet up with the health sector needs; for instance, by creating specialized schools: Faculty of Pharmacies, Faculty of Dentistry, School of Public Health —etc. These structures will help train future skilled workforce to uplift the health sector and offer the opportunity for self-employment.
It worries me that we have not developed public healthcare which is a cornerstone for preventing and controlling diseases in any society.
It worries me that accountability and administrative efficiencies remain an obstacle to achieving universal healthcare in the country.
Despite these worries, there are opportunities that Cameroonians in the Diaspora can contribute to enhancing the health system in the country.
The government should take benefit of the Diaspora population and facilitate ways they can contribute back home.
The Cameroon Diaspora should also reach out to the authority, using appropriate approaches, to lend their contribution to strengthen the health system in Cameroon.
Lastly, most often, in genuine effort to help alleviate hospital needs in Cameroon the Diaspora sends electronic medical equipment that ends up being a burden to the local hospital or health center, due to lack of maintenance capability. We should only ship medical equipment which are easily serviceable in the country.
Thank you for your kind attention.
Long live Cameroon
It is an honor to join you all today to celebrate the 37th anniversary of our great nation, Cameroon. I will like to thank Lady Kate Njuema for inviting me to give this brief remark on health issues in Cameroon.
As the old song “Hotel of California” so rightly states, you can check out of the Hotel but can not leave. So, we can all be residing outside of Cameroon but we are all Cameroonians at heart, and do not need to belong to any political party to contribute to nation building. I owe no loyalty to any political party in Cameroon. It is, therefore, in this framework that I will be making my brief remarks this evening
According to the People’s Health Charter, health is a social, economic and political issue, and above all a fundamental human right issue. Health is primarily determined by the political, economic, social and physical environment and should with equity and just development be a priority in policy making at all levels. Like most countries in sub-Sahara Africa, Cameroon, with an estimated population of 18 million inhabitants, faces a huge burden of diseases ranging from tropical infections, emerging infectious diseases, to chronic illness, previously restricted to developed countries. I will like to share with you some numbers that would provide insights into the disease and health burden in Cameroon.
Life expectancy is about 50 years.
Maternal mortality rate is 730 per 100,000 live births.
Infant mortality rate is about 87 per 1,000 live births
Total expenditure on health a % of GDP is 5.2%
Physician density per 10,000 inhabitants is 2
Coverage for Vaccine Preventable Diseases is low
Infectious diseases are taking a toll on the population: the prevalence rate of tuberculosis in 2006 is 236.8 per 100,000 inhabitants, and the prevalence of HIV in the general population is estimated at 5.3%
Chronic diseases and road traffic injuries are on the rise; with an estimated 15 - 20% of the population in the urban areas is hypertensive, a proportion that has up to now been seen only in developed countries. Moreover, about 6% of the population is diabetic. It is predicted that by 2020, road traffic injuries may rank very high among causes of disability-adjusted life years lost in Cameroon due to the upsurge in the number of vehicles per inhabitant.
Against this background and challenges, the government of Cameroon has committed to providing quality healthcare to the people. For instance, over 60, 000 HIV-infected people are presently receiving life saving antiretroviral drugs, thanks to the support of the Global Fund for AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria. This is a remarkable achievement given the limited number of partners that have provided technical assistance to Cameroon in this effort. In addition, compared to other countries in Central Africa, Cameroon ranks high in terms of the number of well trained and qualified healthcare workers.
Despite these efforts, there are still many worries when one takes a critical look at the health system in Cameroon.
It worries me that Cameroon has not created an enabling environment to meet Millennium Development Goals 7 and 8 for health (reduction of child mortality & the improvement of maternal heath, and the fight against HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases).
It worries me that Cameroon is not modernizing its health sector fast enough to meet up with the health sector needs; for instance, by creating specialized schools: Faculty of Pharmacies, Faculty of Dentistry, School of Public Health —etc. These structures will help train future skilled workforce to uplift the health sector and offer the opportunity for self-employment.
It worries me that we have not developed public healthcare which is a cornerstone for preventing and controlling diseases in any society.
It worries me that accountability and administrative efficiencies remain an obstacle to achieving universal healthcare in the country.
Despite these worries, there are opportunities that Cameroonians in the Diaspora can contribute to enhancing the health system in the country.
The government should take benefit of the Diaspora population and facilitate ways they can contribute back home.
The Cameroon Diaspora should also reach out to the authority, using appropriate approaches, to lend their contribution to strengthen the health system in Cameroon.
Lastly, most often, in genuine effort to help alleviate hospital needs in Cameroon the Diaspora sends electronic medical equipment that ends up being a burden to the local hospital or health center, due to lack of maintenance capability. We should only ship medical equipment which are easily serviceable in the country.
Thank you for your kind attention.
Long live Cameroon
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