The people of Cameroon’s North West and South West regions continue to suffer from the impact of an ongoing socioeconomic crisis and violent conflicts among armed groups. People in these regions routinely experience loss of life and face challenges due to road blockages, inadequate health infrastructure and staff, lack of access to health services, restriction of movement and mass displacement. There are more than 334,000 people who have been internally displaced in these regions, which presents enormous challenges to providing healthcare to the displaced and the host communities.
There are also more than 490,000 formerly displaced people who have returned to their homes (returnees) in the North West and South West regions, creating additional challenges for the healthcare system. Many returnees come home to find that their houses have been destroyed and their former livelihoods are gone. In these circumstances, they are much more likely to experience food insecurity and a lack of economic opportunity. Their access to essential services like healthcare, education and clean water is often severely limited due to damaged infrastructure and a shortage of personnel. At a personal level, returnees often struggle with trauma, the breakdown of community ties and a lack of official documents, all of which hinder their ability to reintegrate into societies where trust in authorities is already fractured.
Mbeku Honorine is a 26-year-old returnee who lives in Toullah, a remote village in Bamali, North West region. When her husband, a civilian bystander, was shot in the crossfire of a firefight, he sustained an injury that prevented him from working. Since then, in addition to raising her family, Honorine has taken the responsibility of sole income earner for her household, working on farms, even while pregnant.
During her community engagement work, a nurse with International Medical Corps conducted a consultation with Honorine and provided her with no-cost medications. The nurse also informed Honorine, who was pregnant at the time, of the services International Medical Corps provides at a nearby hospital, with support from the European Union. On her first visit, hospital staff conducted tests on Honorine and found her to be in good health. While our team provides antenatal, delivery and postnatal care, the facility’s lack of essential equipment posed a significant challenge: Without an ultrasound machine, our staff had to rely on a fetal stethoscope, making it difficult to accurately identify or distinguish between the pulses of multiple fetuses. In her next visit, the International Medical Corps midwife recognized three separate fetal heartbeats and realized that Honorine was pregnant with triplets.
The midwife treated me with great respect and even called me on the phone to check on me. With her help, I gave birth safely.
Mbeku Honorine
“Thanks to the midwife who counselled me,” Honorine says. “She always treated me with great respect and even called me on the phone to check on me. With her help, I gave birth safely.” Our team, with the support of the Cameroon Ministry of Public Health and funding from the European Union, also provided Honorine with basic emergency and obstetric and neonatal care.
