Abstract
Primary health care in Cameroon meets with serious obstacles. The state gives it a low priority in its budget and over-all policy. The health institutions are rarely active in this field. Institutions which do practice some primary health care are usually foreign. The villagers, finally, are little interested. They insist only on improvement of curative services and material life conditions. The conclusion is that primary health care is regarded as something of secondary importance. First comes a better life. The research for this paper was conducted in 1980 in the South of Cameroon.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Alexandre, P. and J. Binet 1958 Le groupe dit Pahouin (Fang-Boulou-Beti). Paris: P.U.F.
Amat, B. and Tonia Cortadellas 1972 Ngovayang II: un village du Sud Cameroun. Contribution à une étude de la santé en Afrique. Paris: Bureau d'Etudes Coopératives et Communautaires.
Anonymous 1978 Soins de santé primaires: expérience camerounaise. In Rapport final de la Première Conférence des Personnels médico-sanitaires et des Administrateurs de la Santé. Yaoundé: Ministère de la Santé Publique; pp. 97–111.
Balandier, G. 1972 Political Anthropology. Harmondsworth: Penguin.
Bertaut, M. 1935 Le droit coutumier des Boulous. Monographie d'une tribu du Sud-Cameroun. Paris: Domat-Montchrestien.
Bourtrais, J., G. Courade, and P. Gubry 1979 Population, planification et développement rural: L'exemple du Cameroun. Yaoundé: Onarest/ISH.
Cousteix, P. J. 1961–63 L'Art et la pharmacopée des guérisseurs Ewondo (Région de Yaoundé). Recherches et Etudes Camerounaises 6 (Numéro Spécial).
Doyal, Lesley 1979 The Political Economy of Health. London: Pluto Press.
England, R. 1978 More Myths in International Health Planning. American Journal of Public Health 68(2):153–9.
Geschiere, P. L. 1978 Stamgemeenschappen onder staatsgezag: veranderende houdingen binnen de Maka dorpen in Zuidoost Kameroen sinds 1900. Meppel: Krips Repro.
Huijts, Maria 1979 ‘Community organization’ comme méthode d'intervention dans un project sanitaire. Wageningen: Université Agronomique (rapport du stage).
Laburthe-Tolra, Ph. 1977 Minlaaba. Histoire et société traditionelle chez les Bëti du Sud-Cameroun. Paris: Librairie Honoré Champion.
Mallart Guimera, L. 1977 Médicine pharmacopée Evuzok. Nanterre: Laboratoire d'Ethnologie et de Sociologie Comparative.
Quinn, F. 1980 Beti Society in the Nineteenth Century. Africa 50(3):293–304.
Ratcliffe, J. 1978 Social Justice and the Demographic Transition: Lessons From India's Kerala State. International Journal of Health Services 8(1):123–44.
Van der Geest, S. 1981 La pathologie de services médicaux: la distribution de médicaments au Sud Cameroun. Problèmes et suggestions. Amsterdam: Anthropological-Sociological Centre.
Werner, D. 1980 Health Care and Human Dignity: A Subjective Look at Community-Based Rural Health Programmes in Latin American. Contact 57:2–16.
Wertheim, W. F. 1974 Evolution and Revolution: The Rising Waves of Emancipation. Harmondsworth: Penguin.
WHO 1975 Fifth Report on the World Health Situation 1969–1972. Geneva: WHO.
1978 Primary Health Care. A joint report by the Director-General of the World Health Organization and the Executive Director of the United Nations Children's Fund. Geneva/New York: WHO.
1980 Sixth Report on the World Health Situation 1973–1977. Part Two, Review by Country and Area. Geneva: WHO.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
van der Geest, S. The secondary importance of primary health care in South Cameroon. Cult Med Psych 6, 365–383 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00118884
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00118884