Kate Meiners Transcultural fund recipient
Summer 2002, Cameroon
An Assessment to Evaluate the Needs of Children
Northwest Province, Cameroon
I spent my summer practicum experience in Kumbo, Cameroon
working with the Life Abundant Primary health care (LAP). LAP, a branch
of the Cameroon Baptist Convention Health Board, began in 1979 with
a mission to empower rural communities in Cameroon to initiate, administer
and maintain sustainable, accessible and culturally appropriate health
and spiritual care. Based on Paulo Freire's 'Conscientiziation' process
communities are active participants in the entire process of defining
health beliefs and plans, setting priorities, implementing their own
strategies and evaluating their progress toward meetings their goals.
Currently there are 38 indigenously owned, funded and managed Primary
Health Centers (PHC) and 20 Integrated Health Centers located in four
of the nine provinces of Cameroon. The 38 PHCs are staffed by 72 Health
Promoters who work to improve the health of their community by identifying
and treating basic diseases and providing health education. Since LAP's
initiation, the areas served by the PHCs have seen dramatic improvements
in health indicators.
While working with the LAP, I had the amazing opportunity to travel
to many of the primary health centers and speak with the Health Promoters
and Trained Birth Attendants working at the PHCs. I was also able to
participate in a training to educate TBAs on the implementation of a
Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT) of HIV program in
the PHCs. One of the highlights of the summer was attending an international
PMTCT conference in Bamenda, Cameroon where I had the opportunity to
meet professionals working in different countries in programs to prevent
the transmission of HIV from mother to child.
In addition to gaining experience within primary health care, I had
the opportunity to analyze data from a Child Needs Assessment that was
conducted by LAP in the Northwest Province, Cameroon from January 2002
to March 2002. This assessment was completed in an effort to identify
and prioritize the needs of children living in Northwest Province. The
Child Needs Assessment Tool Kit was used for this project. This tool-kit
was developed at the request of the Early Child Development Team of
the World Bank to be used by World Bank and Non-Governmental Organizations
in order to evaluate child needs.
The survey tool consists of approximately 120 questions regarding household
characteristics, living conditions, supervision and care, HIV/AIDS,
legal issues, child rights, education, material well-being, child health
and nutrition, psychosocial well-being, orphanhood and child caregivers.
One hundred households were interviewed using cluster sampling techniques
to identify the households. The results of this analysis will be used
by LAP to develop programs based on the needs identified with this survey.
My experience in Cameroon was an enriching opportunity and gave me a
realistic view of the challenges and rewards of primary health care
in a developing country. I worked with some amazing individuals who
opened their arms to me and introduced me to a beautiful culture and
country. I will carry with me the skills I gained and memories I have
for the rest of my life.
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