FEATURE: Cameroon violence limits access to health care, says MSF

The “anglophone crisis” has caused untold suffering. Acts of extreme violence have been enacted upon civilians, health-care workers and schoolchildren, say Doctors Without Borders.

CAPE TOWN, July 30 (ANA) – Access to health care in Cameroon is severely limited as violence between armed groups and armed forces continue to rule the country’s anglophone regions, according to international humanitarian organisation Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF – Doctors Without Borders).

Civilians in Cameroon bear the brunt of unlawful killings, kidnappings and widespread destruction of houses and villages in the country’s North-West and South-West Regions, according to rights group Amnesty International.

“Where I come from, this crisis has affected many people, people are scared. Some of them have run away from the village, some have run to Nigeria leaving their husbands and children behind,” said Rosemary, a civilian affected by the violence.

“This crisis has affected us with so many things. People came to our village and burnt down the houses of others, people who had done nothing; they fought with people and even killed some of our young villagers.”

When Rosemary gave this description of the crisis, she was in Mamfe District Hospital in the South-West. She had experienced complications in her pregnancy and sought medical attention. Without any treatment available nearby, she walked for a full day from her home, to a nearby village, where people called her an MSF ambulance.

Sadly, Rosemary’s story is not unusual in Cameroon’s anglophone regions, where a political crisis initially linked to demands for more autonomy evolved into a crisis of armed violence between Cameroonian security forces and armed separatist groups. Armed clashes have become a daily reality, severely curtailing people’s access to medical care and facilities as well as other basic services, MSF said.

Violence between government forces and the anglophone armed separatist groups erupted in 2017, when protests against discrimination and marginalisation were repressed by the authorities.

The so-called “anglophone crisis” has caused untold suffering to people. Acts of extreme violence have been enacted upon civilians, health-care workers and schoolchildren, lockdowns have been imposed and access to health care has dwindled.

According to the United Nations, close to one in five health-care facilities is no longer functioning in these two regions due to the ongoing crisis, while more than 700,000 people have been displaced. These two statistics combine to create a difficult reality for people in need of essential medical care. Those who have fled the violence often take refuge in the bush, far from any health facilities, vulnerable to malaria, infections or snakebites, in locations often inaccessible for emergency vehicles such as ambulances or even motorcycles.

“The reduced access to medical facilities, coupled with the fact that many cannot afford health care provided by the state, means that even in urban environments, obtaining treatment is a challenge,” said Zakaria Mwatia, MSF’s operations co-ordinator for the South-West Region.

“For this reason, the provision of a free ambulance service, and referrals for free medical care, is no less than a lifeline.”

Since 2018, MSF has been running a 24/7 ambulance service, community-level care and support to health facilities in the two regions. In 2020, almost 9,000 referrals were completed through the ambulance service. However, in December 2020, MSF medical services were suspended by Cameroon’s authorities in the North-West Region.

In the South-West, the ambulance service performed 3,956 referrals in the first six months of 2021. The majority of call-outs were for medical issues unrelated to violence, such as women in labour. Every Monday there is a lockdown, imposed by armed groups, barring people from leaving their homes, which makes it extremely difficult for people to get to hospital if there’s a medical emergency.

During these lockdowns, MSF’s ambulance call centre responding to emergencies in the Kumba area saw an increase of more than 20% in the number of calls received, compared to regular days. There is no other organisation providing a free ambulance service in the South-West Region, let alone during lockdowns.

While the nature and frequency of the call-outs MSF receives illustrate some of the needs in the South-West, it’s also clear that substantial gaps remain in terms of health care for people.

“The effects of this crisis on people must not be underestimated,” said Mwatia. “Our support to hospitals, our community health workers and our ambulance services are vital for people here, but the needs are massive, and by comparison our work is a drop in the ocean. More needs to be done.”

– African News Agency (ANA); Editing by Yaron Blecher