Communities in Cameroon take an active role in preventing cholera
Médecins Sans Frontières and the Cameroon Ministry of Health have launched a community-led initiative to combat recurring cholera outbreaks in Yaoundé. The project focuses on local sanitation and hygiene improvements by incorporating community feedback and existing local knowledge.
Why it matters
Shifting from top-down emergency responses to community-integrated prevention is a critical strategy for managing endemic diseases in resource-limited settings.
Placing communities in Cameroon at the heart of cholera prevention efforts is the basis of a new initiative between M decins Sans Fronti res (MSF) and Cameroon's Ministry of Health (MoH). The project - launched in November 2024 in Djoungolo, a neighbourhood of the country's capital, Yaound , that has been regularly affected by cholera - addresses factors that contribute to the resurgence and transmission of the disease to strengthen prevention capacities often already in place.
"We had already introduced community cleaning days in each neighbourhood to clear drainage channels, clean the areas in front of homes and public spaces," says Simon Ahanda, neighbourhood chief in Djoungolo. "Residents were already mobilised to fight diseases linked to poor sanitation."
Listening to communities before taking action
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