The National Malaria Control Committee released the information on 23 April.

The survey was carried out by the Cameroon National Institute of Statistics. It is based on indicators related to malaria and shows that malaria continues to be a major public health problem in Cameroon. The disease accounts for 28% of consultations. The prevalence rate among children aged 6 to 59 months is 26%.

With an estimated 47.9 per cent of hospitalisations due to malaria and 2.4 per cent of deaths due to malaria, Cameroon is one of the 11 countries most affected by the disease. Several African countries are also on the list, including Congo, Burkina Faso and Mali.

Despite the efforts of the government and its partners, malaria remains a major public health problem in Cameroon, according to Dr Fosso Jean, Deputy Permanent Secretary of the National Malaria Control Committee. Experts cite several reasons to explain the increasing incidence of malaria, including overuse of quinine, which violates the malaria treatment algorithm that reserves quinine for severe cases. – the lack of diagnostic equipment (microscopes, reagents), resulting in low community attendance at health centres.