At the Special Parliamentary Day on Malaria, the Minister of Public Health pointed out that, despite the progress made in the fight against this disease, population coverage of prevention and treatment interventions remains insufficient due to inadequate funding.
Cameroon faces a major challenge in financing its 6th National Malaria Strategic Plan for the period 2024-2028. According to the Ministry of Public Health, a total of 336.95 billion FCFA is needed to carry out the planned interventions. By April 2024, only FCFA 149.98 billion had been raised, leaving a financial shortfall of over FCFA 186 billion, or 55% of total requirements.
Targeted funding must ensure the availability of inputs at all levels, facilitating effective and rapid management of confirmed malaria cases. Interventions will cover not only health facilities, but also communities thanks to multi-purpose community health workers. The Minister of Health stresses that the government has taken steps to guarantee universal, affordable access to malaria prevention and treatment, particularly for the most vulnerable groups, children under 5 and pregnant women.
The budget for the Ministry of Public Health has been revised upwards, from 228.168 billion FCFA in 2023 to 255.281 billion FCFA in 2024, an increase of 11.88%. However, it must be stressed that the budget allocated to health has never exceeded 7% of the State budget, far from the 15% target set by the Abuja Declaration of 2000. On June 12, members of the Parliamentary Task Force on Health Funding called for an increase in the budget.
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We are also demanding that ministers allocate 1% of their budget to the fight against malaria”.
said MP Njume Peter Ambang, member of the parliamentary group for health financing.
