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Health Challenges and Assets of Forest-Dependent Populations in Cameroon

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Abstract

Indigenous populations often have poorer health outcomes than the general population. Marginalization, colonization, and migration from traditional lands have all affected traditional medicine usage, health access, and indigenous health equity. An in-depth understanding of health for specific populations is essential to develop actionable insights into contributing factors to poor indigenous health. To develop a more complete, nuanced understanding of indigenous health status, we conducted first-person interviews with both the indigenous Baka and neighboring Bantu villagers (the reference population in the region), as well as local clinicians in Southern Cameroon. These interviews elucidated perspectives on the most pressing challenges to health and assets to health for both groups, including access to health services, causes of illness, the uses and values of traditional versus modern medicine, and community resilience during severe health events. Baka interviewees, in particular, reported facing health challenges due to affordability and discrimination in public health centers, health effects due to migration from their traditional lands, and a lack of culturally appropriate public health services.

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Notes

  1. Bantu speakers, referred to as “Bantu,” are a heterogeneous mix of agriculturalist ethnic groups in this region, including Badjoue, Nzime, Mbulu, and Fang-Nzaman.

  2. Traditional medicine is a broad term used to define non-Western medicine including “health practices, approaches, knowledge and beliefs incorporating plant, animal and mineral based medicines, spiritual therapies, manual techniques and exercises, applied singularly or in combination to treat, diagnose and prevent illnesses or maintain well-being” (Fokunang et al. 2011).

  3. We refer to public and private healthcare systems (as opposed to traditional medicine practices) in Cameroon herein as “modern medicine” [interviewee’s described modern medicine as the “clinic” (clinique) or “hospital” (hôpital)] because this term was used dominantly in the included region by both the researchers and participants in the interviews.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the local participants for their personal stories and time in the participation of this research as well as members of the research team that assisted with the facilitation of research logistics and village chief connections in Cameroon: Kevin Njabo, Tom Smith, and Francis Forzi. This work was supported by the Environmental Solutions Venture Grant Program in the Institute of the Environment and Sustainability at UCLA.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Fielding School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles, 650 Charles E Young Dr S, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA

    Savanna L. Carson, Cyrus Sinai, Brian L. Cole & Hilary A. Godwin

  2. Higher Institute of Environmental Sciences – IBAY Sup, Nkolbisson, Yaounde, Cameroon

    Fabrice Kentatchime & Eric Djomo Nana

  3. Department of Pediatrics, Mattel Children’s Hospital, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Elizabeth A. Van Dyne

  4. Department of Health Policy and Management, Fielding School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA

    Brian L. Cole

  5. Center for Tropical Research, Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90039, USA

    Hilary A. Godwin

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  1. Savanna L. Carson
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Correspondence to Savanna L. Carson.

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Carson, S.L., Kentatchime, F., Sinai, C. et al. Health Challenges and Assets of Forest-Dependent Populations in Cameroon. EcoHealth 16, 287–297 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10393-019-01411-9

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