By A.J
The recent cut in US aid that once funded malaria prevention in northern Cameroon is exposing the deep problems of the country’s health system.
Communities in the North Region are now seeing a sharp rise in malaria cases, with babies and young children among the most affected.
Local health workers say mosquito nets, medicines, and community programs that were supported by the US President’s Malaria Initiative have dried up, leaving hospitals and clinics overwhelmed. Families who cannot afford private treatment are paying the highest price.
For many observers, this crisis is a reminder of how much Cameroon depends on foreign donors to fight its most dangerous diseases.
Malaria, HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis programs have, for years, been carried almost entirely by foreign partners. But when these partners cut back or delay funding, patients are left stranded and preventable deaths rise.
Despite years of promises, the government has failed to provide strong support for its own health sector. Public hospitals are poorly equipped, rural clinics often have no drugs, and doctors complain of low pay and poor working conditions.
In many villages, people walk long distances to find care, only to discover that the centers have nothing to offer.
Critics say the problem is not just lack of money, but lack of political will. Health has not been treated as a national priority. Instead, spending has gone into big infrastructure projects and security operations, while the basic health needs of ordinary Cameroonians remain ignored.
With presidential elections approaching, the state of health care is becoming an urgent issue. Whoever takes office next will inherit a broken system.
The new leader will have to find ways to fund health care from within, improve rural clinics, make treatment affordable, and rebuild trust among citizens.
For now, the suffering continues. In the North, parents are mourning babies lost to malaria. In towns and villages, mothers give birth without proper medical support. HIV patients worry that their drugs may run out.