The World Health Organization (WHO) and Cameroon have launched a 2025-2029 cooperation strategy to improve healthcare in the country. The plan, presented in Yaounde on September 30, 2026, aligns with Cameroon’s National Development Strategy (SND30) and the Health Sector Strategy 2020-2030. The strategy aims to deliver tangible health outcomes to Cameroonians across all ten regions.
The cooperation strategy was officially presented by the Ministry of Public Health, WHO, and the United Nations system. The ceremony brought together cabinet ministers, diplomatic representatives, multilateral development agencies, local authorities, civil society actors, and academic experts. Minister of Public Health, Dr. Manaouda Malachie, emphasized that the multi-year blueprint must serve as an operational tool to improve healthcare.
The strategy structures WHO technical support and partner interventions around four public health priorities. These include expanding medical services, enhancing institutional leadership, and addressing environmental, nutritional, and lifestyle factors. The plan also focuses on mitigating the growing burden of non-communicable diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, and cancer.
Dr. Bagayoko Magaran Monzon, WHO Representative for Cameroon, highlighted that execution is key to the strategy's success. He noted that declining official development assistance requires partners and the state to optimize available resources. Dr. Bagayoko emphasized the need for a multi-sectoral "Health in All Policies" approach.
The UN leadership called for structured coordination under the "UN as One" approach to eliminate operational overlaps and leverage inter-agency synergies. The UN representative stressed that long-term health security, emergency preparedness, and universal coverage require sustainable domestic resource mobilization.
The cooperation strategy aims to improve healthcare by expanding essential medical services, strengthening local health workforces, and securing drug supply chains. It also focuses on reducing financial barriers for vulnerable populations and institutionalizing early-warning surveillance mechanisms.
The strategy's success will be measured by its implementation and concrete improvements in the lives of Cameroonians. The WHO and Cameroon will work together to optimize available resources and focus on priority interventions, institutional capacity transfer, and the multi-sectoral "Health in All Policies" paradigm.
Key points
- The cooperation strategy aligns with Cameroon’s National Development Strategy (SND30) and the Health Sector Strategy 2020-2030.
- The strategy focuses on four public health priorities, including expanding medical services and addressing environmental, nutritional, and lifestyle factors.
- The success of the strategy depends on its implementation and concrete improvements in the lives of Cameroonians.
