Background Sexual and reproductive health (SRH) care services are essential to improving the lives of women and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. In Cameroon, the Catholic Church is one the largest non-governmental suppliers of health care, but its role in providing SRH care is restricted by religious norms. Methods This study explored doctors’ experiences and perceptions of providing SRH care at Catholic hospitals in a conflict-affected area in Cameroon by using 10 in-depth interviews with doctors from three Catholic hospitals in the North-West region. Qualitative coding was done with NVivo, and data were analysed using thematic analysis. Results Three themes and seven categories were identified. The respondents described strict rules and a broad range of challenges to providing comprehensive sexual and reproductive health care services. Nonetheless, there is evidence of doctors overcoming obstacles to providing SRH care despite the religious and political climate. However, whilst attempting to overcome challenges, participants described numerous examples of poor SRH care and health outcomes. Conclusion The study highlights the importance of understanding the intersect between religion and women’s health, particularly in improving access to SRH for vulnerable populations in conflict-affected areas. It further provides insight into doctors’ motivations in practicing medicine and how doctors cope and make efforts to provide care and minimize harm.

Faith-based health professions schools contribute to the training of staff in many Sub-Saharan African countries. Yet little is known about these actors, their role in the health system, potential comparative advantages and challenges faced. This is a qualitative study drawing on 24 qualitative interviews and 3 focus group discussions. Participants included faith-based health professions schools, staff at faith-based health professions schools, Ministry of Health officials and donors. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. The findings reveal that understanding of faith-based health professions schools held by donors and the Ministry of Health rest on a set of assumptions rather than evidence-backed knowledge and that knowledge on key aspects is missing (not least on the market share of such actors). This suggests that collaboration with and oversight of these non-state schools is limited, raising questions about the balance of state regulation and control in the public-private mix for training health workers. Linked to this weak oversight, the findings also raise concerns over a number of problematic activities at these schools, unaccredited training programmes and the presence of missionary volunteers whose presence and actions are rarely interrogated.

Over the past decade, donors have engaged faith-based organisations (FBOs) in health system reforms and health programmes in many sub-Saharan African countries, including Cameroon. Little knowledge is available concerning the types of FBOs that exist in the health sector in Cameroon. This article describes the complex landscape of Christian FBOs operating in Cameroon's health sector and provides an explanation for that diversity. It reflects on the implications of the use of the "FBO" acronym in Cameroon and argues that the FBO typology discussion is still relevant.

Adequate and equitable distribution of health care facilities in rural areas is critical to human capital development. The study determines distance as a factor influencing utilization of health facilities in Bali-Nyonga. The main objective of the research is to evaluate the socio-economic effect of distance to health care in Bali-Nyonga. Data for this were gathered through field observation, face to face interview and questionnaires. Data from secondary sources included publish and unpublished material which was presented in form of related literature review. The data were analyzed using descriptive measures and presented in the form of tables, chart, percentages and graphs. In Bali-Nyonga, where the condition of roads is very poor, distance from the nearest health facility emerges as the most important factor influencing utilization. The vulnerable groups of women, the age, sickly, the illiterate and the poor were not found to be more strongly affected by distance decay. The policy implication arising from this study suggest that distance to improve health care needs to be reduce to enhance accessibility and to improved health service by various socio-economic groups in the area. It was recommended to strengthen the efforts to improve accessibilities of health care facilities in the rural areas by increasing the number of health facilities, transport and sensitization of the rural indigenes.

Background: the slaughtering of animals for human consumption is an important component of every economy. But slaughterhouse activities have a lot of environmental and health risks on the surrounding communities. In Kumba municipality, in most cases, untreated effluents are discharged into the nearby water bodies used by the local communities while the hard parts (horns, hoofs and bones) are discarded off unsustainably around the slaughterhouse premises. Objective : The goal of this study is to assess water quality of water bodies closed to slaughterhouses in Kumba municipality. Methods: The study adopted a purposive sampling technique to administer one hundred and fifty questionnaires to the population, the butchers as well as to conduct interviews with stakeholders. Information for the study was collected using survey, questionnaires, key informant interviews, researcher’s direct observation as well as from hospital reports on the prevalence of slaughterhouse pollution related water borne diseases. Results: the laboratory results of the streams used by slaughterhouses showed variations in water quality parameters as a result of slaughterhouse activities. The findings were later on compared with available hospital records and the results showed that, the poor management of slaughterhouse wastes affected the local population negatively. The population suffered from diseases like, cholera, typhoid, and dysentery. This is because the streams used by the slaughterhouses for the discharge of untreated effluents had severe alterations in temperatures as well as in their nitrate, phosphate, COD, BOD and E.Coli concentrations. Conclusion: slaughterhouses wastes pollute streams enormously which exposes the local population to lots of pollution related diseases. Efforts should be made to reuse some slaughterhouse wastes or to treat slaughterhouse such wastes before discharge into the nearby steams.