Universal Journal of Public Health Vol. 7(4), pp. 171 - 178
DOI: 10.13189/ujph.2019.070403
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Progress towards Universal Health Coverage: Is Cameroon Investing Enough in Primary Care?


Chenjoh Joseph Nde 1,*, Alice Raymond 2, Ndong Ignatius Cheng 3, Guy Roger Etoundi 4, Yauba Saidu 2, Johannes Tabi Atemnkeng 5, Wilfred Fon Mbacham 6
1 Department of Health Economics, Policy and Management, Faculty of Business and Management, Catholic University of Cameroon, Cameroon
2 Clinton Health Access Initiative, Senegal
3 Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, College of Health Sciences, University of Ghana, Ghana
4 Technical Secretariat for the Health Sector Strategy, Ministry of Public Health, Cameroon
5 Department of Economics and Management, Faculty of Social and Management Sciences, University of Buea, Cameroon
6 Unit for Life Sciences and Biological Organisms, Faculty of science, University of Yaounde I, Cameroon

ABSTRACT

Cameroon faces significant income and health inequalities, due to the health sector's reliance on out-of-pocket spending for 70% of healthcare financing. To solve this problem, the government in 2015 began reflections for the putting in place of a universal health coverage (UHC) scheme. However, a number of planning, budgeting and resource management processes must be strengthened to facilitate this reform. This paper aims at reviewing the structure of resource allocation within the ministry of health to assess if it reflects the government's desire to enhance service availability and readiness for the impending UHC. Data was derived from finance laws (chapter 40) of 2014 to 2018. The data was analyzed using Microsoft Excel. The results reveal a high centralization of the budget in favor of the central administration to the detriment of the operational level. Allocations to the regional and district levels are insensitive to the size and needs of the population of the regions and districts. As a consequence, there are great disparities between the regions and between urban and rural areas, leading to inequity in service delivery. In order to increase the quantity and quality of primary care in an effort to reach UHC, we recommend that more resources be directed to the operational level while district managers are capacitated to effectively and efficiently use these funds.

KEYWORDS
Universal Health Coverage, Budget, Review, Allocation, Cameroon

Cite This Paper in IEEE or APA Citation Styles
(a). IEEE Format:
[1] Chenjoh Joseph Nde , Alice Raymond , Ndong Ignatius Cheng , Guy Roger Etoundi , Yauba Saidu , Johannes Tabi Atemnkeng , Wilfred Fon Mbacham , "Progress towards Universal Health Coverage: Is Cameroon Investing Enough in Primary Care?," Universal Journal of Public Health, Vol. 7, No. 4, pp. 171 - 178, 2019. DOI: 10.13189/ujph.2019.070403.

(b). APA Format:
Chenjoh Joseph Nde , Alice Raymond , Ndong Ignatius Cheng , Guy Roger Etoundi , Yauba Saidu , Johannes Tabi Atemnkeng , Wilfred Fon Mbacham (2019). Progress towards Universal Health Coverage: Is Cameroon Investing Enough in Primary Care?. Universal Journal of Public Health, 7(4), 171 - 178. DOI: 10.13189/ujph.2019.070403.