The Minister of Public Health yesterday urged experts to better update the health map of Cameroon which dates back to 2005.

Cameroon’s health map which dates back to 2005 indicates that the country could boast of 3,580 health structures. With the passing of time, coupled with the many changes that have taken place within the health system of the country, there is need for health experts to make an update of the health situation so as to meet up with the challenges of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) whose 2011 report indicates that developing countries, such as Cameroon, still need to do more to achieve universal access to health care for all its citizens. It is within this backdrop that the Minister of Public Health, André Mama Fouda, yesterday January 16 in Yaounde, opened a two-day consultative meeting between health personnel and foreign partners to brainstorm on the most apt strategies that can be used in the next six months to update the health map of Cameroon.

The Head of the Sanitary Information Unit at the Ministry of Public Health, Séverin Zinga, says the current health map of the country is not updated and for any health map to properly address health problems faced in any country, it has to be revised after every two years. He added that between 2005 to 2011, many changes have taken place within the health system of Cameroon as more health structures have been constructed. Some existing structures no longer function; some health personnel have gone on retirement or passed away while more have been recruited. Séverin Zinga added that some of the health equipments that existed seven years ago have gone bad while new equipments have been bought. This is why the Head of the Sanitary Information Unit stressed that it is time for the ministry to consolidate the approach which will be used to revise the health map of the country.

The health map is that instrument that will help decision makers know how health facilities can be distributed in the country such as health structures, human resources, equipment and even money for such items must be distributed equally in relation to the different problems faced in various areas. When the map will be established, it will help evaluate the gap between health guidelines and the actual situation in the field. This will help decision markers to better manage the health system in terms of what is needed, what actually exists and how it can be used.