Cameroon’s Critical Shortage of Incubators Puts Thousands of Newborns at Risk ⁰

Cameroon loses nearly 10,000 newborns every year due to a severe lack of incubators and trained paediatric staff. The problem is especially acute in conflict-affected regions like the Northwest, where hospitals such as Bamenda Regional Hospital operate far below required capacity—only six incubators for nearly 20 babies, many of whom are pre-term and vulnerable to infections when forced to share equipment.

Mission hospitals face similar shortages. Mbingo Baptist Hospital, one of the country’s top referral centers, runs on just four incubators, a situation worsened by the Anglophone Crisis and COVID-19, which drastically reduced patient access. Nationally, Cameroon records high child mortality: nearly 90,000 low-birth-weight babies are born annually, and about 10,000 die from preventable causes. The country’s under-five mortality rate remains far above global averages.

Experts say the crisis is driven by chronic underfunding. Cameroon allocates only around 4% of its national budget to health, far below the 15% Abuja Declaration benchmark. Despite incubators being relatively affordable, most hospitals lack them, and paediatric specialists are also in short supply—only about 200 paediatricians serve 15 million children, with many doctors leaving the country for better conditions.

Efforts to improve the situation are emerging. MP Peter Njume has launched a Parliamentary Caucus on Health Financing to push for increased domestic funding. Meanwhile, a coalition led by Professor Pius Tih and the African Children’s Healthcare Fund is working to build Cameroon’s first dedicated paediatric hospital, which would include modern neonatal care equipment and specialist staff.

With children making up nearly half of Cameroon’s population, experts warn that expanding paediatric services is urgent if the country hopes to reach universal health coverage by 2030.

Source: Trendsafrica