KEY FACTS Joined Commonwealth: 1995 Population: 22,254,000 (2013) GDP p.c. growth: 0.0% p.a. 1990–2013 GNI p.c.: US$1,270 (2013) UN HDI 2014: World ranking 152 Life expectancy: 55 years (2013) Under-five mortality rate (per 1,000 live births): 95 (2012) Largest contribution to mortality: HIV/AIDS Government health expenditure: 2% of GDP (2012) General information Cameroon is called Cameroun in French, Kamerun in German, Camarões in Portuguese and Cameroon in English. The country’s name derives from camarões, meaning ‘shrimps’, so called by the 15th-century Portuguese explorer Fernando Po who named the 158 Commonwealth Health Partnerships 2015 River Wouri ‘Rio dos Camarões’ (‘shrimp river’), after the many shrimps. Cameroon is in central Africa, bounded clockwise (from the west) by the Gulf of Guinea, Nigeria, Chad, Central African Republic, Congo, Gabon and Equatorial Guinea. The country comprises ten regions: Adamaoua, Centre, Coastal, East, Far North, North, North-West, South, South-West and West. Climate: In the northern Sahel region, there is a long dry season October–April, with temperatures varying from cool to very hot. Further south, on the Adamaoua plateau, there are sharp drops in temperature at night. In the south the climate is hot and humid, with two rainy seasons, in September/October and from March to June. Environment: The most significant issues are overgrazing, desertification, deforestation, poaching and overfishing. Population: 22,254,000 (2013); 53 per cent of people live in urban areas and 25 per cent in urban agglomerations of more than one million people. The population growth rate stood at 2.7 per cent p.a. between 1990 to 2013. In 2013 the birth rate was 37 per 1,000 people (45 in 1970) and life expectancy was 55 years (44 in 1970). The population is ethnically diverse. In the north, the people are mostly Hausa, Fulbé (Fulani), Sudanese and Choa Arab. In the west, the Bamiléké are the biggest ethnic group, followed by Tiker and Bamoun. South of the River Sanaga, there are Bantu groups: Fang, Ewondo, Boulou, Eton, Bassa, Bakoko and Douala. Some pygmies (including Baka) live in the south-eastern forested country. Economy: Cameroon is classified as a lower-middle-income economy by the World Bank. Health Child and maternal health: The rate of infant mortality in Cameroon was 61 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2012, with an under-five mortality rate of 95 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2013. There has been a consistent reduction in the under-five mortality rate since 1998, however, the rate remains very high and has not yet reached the country’s target of 45 deaths per 1,000 live births, as defined by Millennium Development Goal 4 (MDG 4). In 2012 the three most prominent causes of death for children below the age of five years were acute respiratory infections (17 per cent), malaria and diarrhoea (both 12 per cent). Other contributory causes were prematurity (11 per cent), intrapartum-related complications (11 per cent), neonatal sepsis (six per cent) and congenital abnormalities (five per cent). In 2013 Cameroon had an adjusted maternal mortality ratio of 590 deaths per 100,000 live births (this figure was estimated at 670 deaths per 100,000 by UN agencies/World Bank in 2007–11). Burden of disease: Communicable diseases along with maternal, perinatal and nutritional conditions in Cameroon accounted for an estimated 61 per cent majority of all mortality in 2012. The Cameroon
Commonwealth Health Partnerships 2015
To see the actual publication please follow the link above