Ebolowa, Cameroon August 22-25, 2022 With the aim of correcting gender inequalities in the health sector and facilitating access to quality health care for all, the Ministry of Health, in collaboration with the P4H Focal Person in Cameroon, held a gender budgeting workshop based on the Ministry of Health’s 2023 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework.
The workshop was attended by representatives from the Ministry of Health, the Ministry for the Promotion of Women, the Ministry of Planning, the Ministry of Finance, as well as the Ministry’s technical and financial partners, notably WHO, GIZ and AFD.
This workshop follows the Government’s commitment to reduce gender disparities by 2030, which was reflected in instructions given by the Head of State through the budget circular letter for the preparation of the 2023 budget. The Ministry of Health, the lead ministry for this reform, is taking two factors into account :
- The pilot phase for the introduction of universal health coverage (UHC) in 2023 ;
- Health financing strategy.
In order to properly code health interventions in the budget according to gender mainstreaming criteria, participants first benefited from capacity building followed by discussions on several themes, the main ones being :
- General information on the concept of gender in Cameroon and the orientations of the national gender policy ;
- Taking gender into account in health sector policies and strategies : PNDS and health financing strategy. Overall, it was clear that this issue is taken into account and is a priority for facilitating access to healthcare for all, without discrimination of any kind. However, it still needs to be put into practice through concrete actions and integrated into the various health financing mechanisms currently in place;
- The implications of gender inequalities on the implementation of the CSU : Through this presentation and the ensuing discussions, participants noted that there are still inequalities in access to healthcare services for certain vulnerable groups, due to socio-cultural considerations, geographical barriers and the availability of healthcare services adapted to the needs of target populations. In a context where the CSU is being set up, it is essential to correct these inequalities and inequities to enable the entire population to have access to quality healthcare ;
- The concept of gender budgeting. This presentation highlighted the definition of gender-sensitive spending. And
Following the exchange and discussion sessions, the Ministry of Health’s 2023 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) was codified according to the gender approach. Overall, 56% of the Ministry of Health’s 2023 budget estimate is deemed ” Gender-sensitive “.
Although appreciable, the level still needs to be raised, especially in the context of the implementation of the CSU.
In conclusion, the participants formulated recommendations to further reduce gender inequalities in the health sector :
- Ensure that gender inequalities are taken into account in the formulation of health financing mechanisms and their effective implementation ;
- Continue to raise awareness among the Ministry of Health’s top officials of the importance of gender in the conduct of activities to ensure access to healthcare for all ;
- Distribute the gender analysis of the health budget after it has been validated by management.
Aminata TOU
CFP-Cameroon
