In 2010, Cameroon launched a National Plan to become an “emerging country” by 2035. Against the backdrop of this national vision, the National Health Development Plan and the Health Sector Strategy were revised in 2016 to reflect the government’s commitment to 0.0050 USD. Goal four (4) of the Health Sector Strategy (HSS) devotes its full attention to eliminating all forms of disabilities caused by treatable diseases. The HSS identifies hearing impairment as the most prevalent disability, accounting for 38.8% of all disabilities in the country.

Although the need for people with hearing disabilities stands out, there is no national plan for hearing disabilities. The feasibility study revealed that the Cameroon EHC Society wanted to develop such a plan four years ago, but due to a lack of resources, it has not been addressed to date. The “The Strengthening Capacity for Ear and Hearing Care in Cameroon project” of the CBC Health Services aims to strategically address these issues.

It is against this backdrop that the first strategic meeting took place from March 6-7, 2025 at the CBC Health Services Resource Center Mvan Yaounde. The meeting aimed at initiating actions to develop a draft national plan for Ear and Hearing Care (EHC) in Cameroon.

The Strategic meeting was chaired by the Secretary-General (SG) of the Ministry of Public Health, Prof. Louis Richard Njock. At the start of the deliberation, Prof Njock saluted BMZ the main funder, CBM and CBC Health Services for the project within which the meeting was organized. He said the meeting began a new era in beefing up EHC in Cameroon. The SG reminded stakeholders on the need for exchange to result in a workable national strategy.  Prof. Njock reiterated that moving forward, actions must be taken to decentralize EHC from Regional hospital to District hospitals and health centres within the scope of basic healthcare package. 

The Chief of Service in charge of the control of oral diseases, chronic hearing, and visual deficiencies of the Ministry of Public Health (MoH), Dr. Mapa Clarisse presented the situation of EHC in Cameroon. Dr. Mapa disclosed that globally, at least 5.5% of the world’s population representing 450 million people suffers from hearing loss. She added that at the National level while there is no established framework, there is basic care at regional hospitals with no links to district and integrated health centers. Even when the EHC minimum package is available, Dr. Mapa said, at the moment. patients bear the entire cost of their treatment because the MoH has no comprehensive budget line for EHC. On the availability of human resources, Dr. Mapa cited the uneven distribution of at least 100 Ear Nose and Throat (ENT) specialists in Cameroon with 80% of them operating in Douala and Yaounde,

To further paint the situation of EHC at the regional level specifically in the NWR, Mr. Abanda Alphonso who represented the Project Manager highlighted that there is only one ENT specialist per 500,000 people in the NWR region with ENT conditions. About 80% of hospitals lack basic audiometric testing facilities, less than 10% of people with hearing loss receive medical intervention and over 70% of cases go undiagnosed due to lack of awareness and access, he disclosed.

The meeting was taking place under the watchful eyes of the CBM Global EHC Advisor, Dr. Diego Santana who told stakeholders that for a start there could be challenges but Cameroon has strong health pillars to build on. He said the meeting was part of efforts to strengthen EHC in Cameroon. Dr. Diego appealed to other actors from civil society and international organizations to join the move. “It is an ambitious plan that needs work. If we are serious about our Universal Health Coverage, we must work together to build capacity and align with global initiative” he noted. The EHC Advisor added that the putting in place of such plan will make health care in Cameroon more inclusive.

The situation of EHC at both national and regional levels was presented to stakeholders drawn from the Ministries of Health, Education and Social Affairs, World Health Organization, University of Yaounde 1, CBM Country Office, the ENT Society, Non-Governmental Organization, CBC Health Services, and Inclusive Platform set the pace for the deliberations.

After two days of brainstorming, the stakeholders adopted the following actions;

• Enhance communication accessibility for persons with hearing impairment by promoting the use of harmonized sign language and subsidized education.
• Design and implement a module on the management and maintenance of EHC equipment and assistive technologies for the training program of Biomedical Technicians.
• Organize national and regional consultative meetings involving key stakeholders to align interventions and funding.
• Increase community awareness: integration of EHC awareness messages within the communication plans of the various public administrations.
• Raise awareness about the harm caused by noise pollution and design health promotion programs in communities.
• Identify and list all sources of noise pollution within the country and develop specific policies for control of noise pollution in Cameroon.

At the end of the meeting, the Head of the ENT department from the Faculty of Medicines and Biomedical Sciences University of Yaounde I, Prof. Djomou Francoise appreciated the participants for their useful contributions. He affirmed that the meeting was a foundation for developing the draft national plan for EHC and enabler for the next advocacy meeting for EHC.