Gauging Cameroon's Resilience to the COVID-19 pandemic: Implications for Enduring a Novel Health Crisis.

Abstract

Purpose: This article examines Cameroon’s health service resilience in the first five months (March-July 2020) of the COVID-19 outbreak. The motive is to diagnose suboptimal performance in sustaining health care services during the pandemic in order to identify areas for improvement as well as draw lessons for the future. Design/methodology/approach: This is principally qualitative, exploratory, analytical and descriptive research that involves the collation of empirical, primary and secondary data. A conceptual framework (Health Systems Resilience for Emerging Infectious Diseases) provides structure to the article and an anchor for interpreting the findings. The research validity has been established by analysing the aims/objectives from multiple perspectives in the research tradition of triangulation. Findings: Cameroon has exerted much effort to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet, several constraints and gaps exist. The findings reveal limitations in Cameroon’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the provision of fundamental health care services under contextual themes of health infrastructure/medical supplies, human capital, communication/sensitisation/health education, governance and trust/confidence. Analysis of the identified impediments demonstrate that Cameroon’s healthcare system is not resilient enough to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic and provides several insights for enhanced response as the pandemic accelerates in the country. Originality: This is one of the first scholarly articles to examine how Cameroon’s healthcare system is faring in COVID19 combat. Underscored by the novel Health Systems Resilience for Emerging Infectious diseases (HSREID) model, this article provides initial insights into Cameroon’s resilience to COVID-19 with a view to enhancing the health system’s response as the pandemic unfolds and strengthens readiness for subsequent health crises.