Republic of Cameroon

Written By Equip To Leap

THE FACTS:

  • CAPITAL CITY -YAOUNDE

  • POPULATION  - Estimated 29,794,104

  • President- PAUL BIYA MVONDO in power since 1984 (33years)

  • Official Languages (French 80% and English 20% of the population)

  • Ethnic Groups - 31% Cameroon Highlanders, 19% Equatorial Bantu, 11% Kirdi 10% Fulani, 8% Northwestern Bantu, 7% Eastern Nigritic, 13% other African and  <1% non-African

  • Cameroon is known as Africa in miniature due to its geological and cultural diversity.

  • The Cameroon's natural resources are convenient to agriculture and arboriculture. Soils and climate on the coast encourage extensive commercial cultivation of bananas, cocoa, oil palms, rubber, and tea. Inland on the South Cameroon Plateau, cash crops include coffee, sugar, and tobacco and in the north, natural conditions favor crops such as cotton, groundnuts, and rice. However, reliance on agricultural exports makes Cameroon vulnerable to shifts in their prices. The southern rainforest has vast timber reserves, estimated to cover 37% of Cameroon's total land area. However, large areas of the forest are difficult to reach and foreign-owned firms largely handle logging. More than 75% of Cameroon's industrial strength is located in Douala the commercial capital city. Cameroon possesses substantial mineral resources, but these are not extensively mined. Petroleum exploitation has fallen since 1986, but this is still a substantial sector such that dips in prices have a strong effect on the economy. Rapids and waterfalls obstruct the southern rivers, but these sites offer opportunities for hydroelectric development and supply most of Cameroon's energy. The Sanaga River powers the largest hydroelectric station, located at Edéa. The rest of Cameroon's energy comes from oil-powered thermal engines. Much of the country remains without reliable power supplies.  Transport in Cameroon is extremely difficult. Roads (mostly one-lane) are poorly maintained and subject to inclement weather, since only 10% of the roadways are tarred. Roadblocks often serve little purpose other than to allow police and gendarmes to collect bribes from travelers.

 CAMEROON HEALTH STATICS PER WHO 

The average life expectancy is 56 years of age. Healthy Life Expectancy is 48 years of age Under five Mortality rate (per 1000 live births): 95 Maternal Mortality Rate (per 100,000 live births: 590 Probability of dying before the age of 15: 34% (females), 29%(males) Probability of dying between ages of 15-49 from maternal causes: 35% Top 10 Causes of Death: 

  • HIV/AIDS

  • Diarrheal Diseases

  • Malaria

  • Stroke

  • Ischemic Heart Disease

  • Birth Asphyxia and Birth Trauma

  • Meningitis

  • Pre-term Birth Complications

  • Tuberculosis

  • Unintentional injuries

               OTHER FACTS:

1.3 beds per thousand people and only an estimated 0.08 physician per thousand people according to CIA WORLD FACT BOOK, 2017 

Population living with HIV/AIDS is 619, 200 as of 2015 

Infectious diseases are rampant and high risk in Cameroon and mostly gotten from dirty/contaminated water and food 

Vector-borne diseases such as malaria and yellow fever as of 2016 are equally rampant and lead to a high number of mortality. 

According to a research article published on March 09, 2017 by Clinic Compare, the UK’s leading clinic comparison website titled “THE BEST AND WORST COUNTRIES FOR EMERGENCY HEALTHCARE”, Cameroon is the worst place to fall ill. The research included an investigation of the medical services of 144 countries by cross referencing data including competency of hospital staff, latest equipment, waiting times, cost to satisfaction ratio, convenience of medical centers and the number of doctors available to the population in the event of illness and injury.  The research showed that medical facilities in Cameroon were poor across the board, and with fewer that one doctor per 1,000 people, emergency services are extremely limited (World Health organization has it as 1 doctor to every 5000 people). Doctors and nurses who train in Cameroon often immigrate to higher paying countries with a lesser workload and as such life expectance is low at around 56. (http://blog.cliniccompare.co.uk/best-and-worst-countries-emergency-healthcare) 

This abhorrent lack of facilities is not only relegated to emergency care. The inadequacy is prevalent in every aspect of the healthcare industry of the country and exacerbated by unprecedented rates of corruption and misappropriation of government funds and extreme poverty. 

According to the World Bank Institute, low and middle-income countries make up 84% of the world’s population and 93% of the disease burden but only 18% of global health spending. The public sector has been unable to meet the needs of an increasingly ageing population in these nations and so the private sector now plays a huge role. Delivery of health care is integral to economic and social development and is intricately related to poverty and reduction of poverty.  “A healthy population is a productive population”; and currently the health indicators in Cameroon are discouragingly poor, as well as the poverty rate with about 40% living below the poverty line.

Even the government of Cameroon recognizes these facts in its GESP (GROWTH and DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY PAPER) for 2010-2020 with targeted millennium development goals of reduction of extreme poverty and hunger; reduction of child and maternal mortality; as well as improving treatment of prevalent diseases.

Equip To Leap