Cameroon - Health Equity Diagnostic : Summary Report

Overview & Synopsis

Cameroon has made significant progress towards achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC) in recent decades, however, significant opportunities for improvement remain. Between 2000 and 2021, the country’s UHC Service Coverage Index doubled from 22 to 441. Yet Cameroon lags behind the average for low- and middle-income countries (58) and falls far short of the global average (68). Aggregate measures like the UHC Service Coverage Index tend to mask inequities in who benefits from health improvements and who bears the financial burden for the use of services. To make meaningful progress toward UHC, countries must unpack disparities in access, service coverage, quality of care, and financial protection and design policies that provide protection to the most vulnerable. In a fiscally constrained environment like Cameroon, equity must remain a key policy imperative. With higher global borrowing costs, additional constraints on external funding, a downturn in global demand, and a steep increase in economic uncertainty, fiscal space for the health sector remains a challenge. Against this backdrop, cost-effectiveness is likely to guide the prioritization of health investments and services, which can often be at odds with more costly approaches that prioritize the most vulnerable. Yet, addressing inequities in health outcomes, service quality, access, and financial protection is critical to accelerating progress towards UHC, which represents a foundational investment in human capital. Inequalities in access to and quality of health services are deeply rooted and persist across socioeconomic, geographic, and demographic lines, including in Cameroon, reflecting a system where the care one receives often depends on where one live and what one can afford to pay. As part of the broader Cameroon Health System Status Report (2025), the World Bank conducted a Country Equity Diagnostic (CED) - a systematic analysis of health-related inequalities in Cameroon. The findings in this summary report and in the Cameroon Health System Status Report are intended to guide policymakers, donors, and stakeholders toward reforms that leave no individual behind.