The Cameroon National Digital Health Strategic Plan 2020–2024

June 2020

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Strategies and Action Plans

Author: Ministry of Public Health (Ministère de la Santé Publique) of Cameroon.

The Cameroon National Digital Health Strategic Plan 2020–2024 is a comprehensive policy framework designed to modernise the country’s health system using digital technologies. Developed under the leadership of the Ministry of Public Health, with support from CDC and I-TECH/University of Washington, the plan aligns with WHO’s global recommendations and Cameroon’s national health and digital transformation strategies.

Context

Cameroon faces numerous health system challenges: poor infrastructure, limited access to services in rural areas, low data reliability, and high costs. These issues hinder progress toward Universal Health Coverage (UHC). Digital health is seen as a transformative tool to overcome such barriers by improving efficiency, equity, and quality of healthcare delivery.

The plan builds on national policies such as the 2016–2027 Health Sector Strategy and the Cameroon Digital Strategy 2020, aiming to integrate health services with ICT and digital governance.

Vision and objectives

Vision: By 2024, digital health will effectively contribute to UHC through informed decision-making at all levels of the health pyramid, supported by reliable, secure, and interoperable systems.

General objective: Improve the performance of the health system through optimal use of digital technologies.

Strategic areas:

  1. Leadership and governance
  2. Legislation, policy, and compliance
  3. Human resources
  4. Strategy and investment
  5. Services and applications
  6. Infrastructure
  7. Standards and interoperability

Each strategic area is associated with specific and measurable goals, interventions, and budget allocations.

Key features

  • Participatory Development: The plan was created through national workshops involving ministries, academia, NGOs, and private sector actors.
  • Maturity Model: The plan uses the SOCI toolkit to evaluate the development stage of digital health across components and guide improvements.
  • Core Interventions: Focus on telemedicine, mobile health (mHealth), electronic medical records, patient tracking, targeted communication, and training for healthcare workers.
  • Infrastructure Focus: Emphasis is placed on increasing access to electricity, broadband internet, and IT equipment in health facilities.
  • Regulatory Reform: Addresses the lack of a legal framework for data privacy, electronic health records, and telemedicine.
  • Human Capacity: Plans for recruiting and training ICT experts and healthcare professionals in digital tools.
  • Investment Plan: The total budget is over 11.3 billion XAF (~$19 million), with most funds allocated to infrastructure and applications.

Implementation and monitoring

The plan includes a detailed budget, performance indicators, timelines, and an evaluation framework. A national committee is to be established to coordinate implementation, supported by capacity-building programs and partnerships.