Études caribéennes

49 | Août 2021
La Caraïbe face au covid-19 : crise globale et solutions locales
Covid-19 en Afrique

Fight Against Covid-19

Pandemic in the Context of
Socio-Political Crisis: the Case
of the North West Region of
Cameroon
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Lutte contre la pandémie de Covid-19 dans un contexte de crise socio-politique : le cas de la Région du
activer
Nord-Ouest du Cameroun

DOMINIQUE MEVA’A ABOMO, EMMANUEL WONOMU EJUANDE ET

✓ Tout accepter
ARMAND NDEWE
✗ Tout refuser
https://doi.org/10.4000/etudescaribeennes.22727

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Résumés
English Français
This paper probes into the problem of increasing number of Covid-19 infected persons in
the North West Region of Cameroon despite the prescription of several barrier measures by
the World Health Organization and the Cameroon government. In the same light, it
analyses various strategies of stakeholders in the 19 Health Districts toward the fight
against the pandemic. Data for the study were gotten from primary sources (field
investigation, interview and empirical observation) and from secondary sources (statistical
retrieving and documentary research) which were later treated with the input mask and
Excel software. The results revealed that the migratory movement of the population, socio-
cultural context of the area and the ongoing socio-political crisis are some of the root causes
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 of the spread of the virus. Stakeholders’ participation in the fight against corona virus is yet
to meet expectations since negligence, ignorance and socio-cultural believes have gained
the minds of the population. Consequently, some of the repercussions are increase number
of deaths, loss of family ties and increase unemployment rates. Now therefore, community
participation of all stakeholders would be as a panacea to eradicating Covid-19 in the North
West Region of Cameroon.

Cette étude examine le problème du nombre croissant de personnes infectées par le Covid-
19 dans la Région du Nord-Ouest du Cameroun malgré la prescription de plusieurs mesures
barrières par l’Organisation mondiale de la santé et par le gouvernement du Cameroun. En
plus, elle analyse les différentes stratégies des acteurs dans les 19 Districts de Santé en vue
de lutter contre la pandémie. Les données de l’étude proviennent de sources primaires
(recherche de terrain, entrevues et observations empiriques) et de sources secondaires
(recouvrement statistique et recherche documentaire) qui ont ensuite été traitées avec le
masque de saisie et le logiciel Excel. Les résultats révèlent que le mouvement migratoire des
populations, le contexte socioculturel de la Région et la crise sociopolitique en cours sont
quelques-unes des causes profondes de la propagation du virus. La participation des parties
prenantes à la lutte contre le virus corona n’est pas encore à la hauteur des attentes puisque
la négligence, l’ignorance et les croyances socioculturelles ont gagné l’esprit des habitants.
Par conséquent, les répercussions sont: l’augmentation du nombre de décès, la perte de
liens familiaux et l’augmentation de taux de chômage. Ainsi donc, la participation
communautaire de toutes les parties prenantes serait une panacée pour éradiquer le Covid-
19 dans la Région du Nord-Ouest du Cameroun.

Entrées d’index
Mots-clés : Covid-19, système sanitaire, reconfiguration communautaire, Région du
Nord-Ouest, pandémie
Keywords: Covid-19, sanitary system, community reconfiguration, North West Region,
pandemic

Texte intégral

Introduction
1 Epidemic outbreak in the cities of developing countries is recurrent and the some
local populations are familiar to such unfortunate situation (Esposito S. et al; 2020).
The inhabitants are usually at the mercy of disease infection and contamination as
their respective communities lack adequate hygiene and sanitary equipment to
prevent the spread of diseases. This is opposed to the developed countries which
have advanced protective mechanisms against the spread of diseases in time and in
space (WHO 2018, Meva’a Abomo et al; 2015). The African continent in particular
has for long been experiencing series of epidemics ravaging the four corners of the
continent. During the colonial era, Africa was named the white man grave on the
bases of disease infection persistently taking away humans lives. At present, malaria
fever is considered as a staple infection in the lives of more than 90% of each born
and bred African, especially those residing in the tropical zones where there exist
huge dense tropical rain forests with average temperature ranges from 20°C to 25°C,
:
 favouring the reproduction of mosquitoes.
2 The continent has also been witnessing the occurrence of dreadful disease
infections like the Ebola, HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis and now the corona virus infection.
The Covid-19 infection in Africa unlike in the developed and economically advanced
countries has not had the same appreciations and effects. Though the pandemic is
unbiased, the developed and the economically advanced countries like China,
Thailand, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Vietnam, Taiwan, Nepal, and the United
States which registered the first cases of Covid-19 carried out community
reconfiguration of the sanitary system as a means to curb the effects of the virus;
whereas in Africa and precisely in Cameroon, it was more of an idle debate. In the
North West Region of Cameroon, no single case of Covid-19 or 2019-nCoV was
confirmed from the beginning of the outbreak till the month of April where the first
case was confirmed on Monday 20, 2020 (RDPH 2020). Before a single case was
confirmed and even after confirmation, the local stakeholders namely the State, the
local populations, the civil society and the international community have undertaken
measures to lessen the spread of the infection. Paradoxically, the Covid-19 situation
in the area today is on the rise, with increasing number of infected person and
increase death toll which are sustained by laxity and negligence to implement barrier
measures established by the World Health Organization. Now therefore, this paper
aims to give a response to the problem of increasing number of infected persons and
deaths despite the many barrier measures prescribed by WHO and enforced by the
government of Cameroon.

1. Methodology

1.1. Location of the Study Area

3 Cameroon is located at the coast of Guinea and the country comprises of ten
Regions. The study area is located in the North West portion of the country and
bordered to the north by the Federal Republic of Nigeria, to the south by the West
Region, to the east by the Adamawa Region and to the west by the South West
Region. With a surface area of 17 300 km2, the Region is situated on an average
altitude of 1 550 m above sea level and has mountain chains of more than 3 000 m of
altitude (NIS 2014). Figure 1 represents the study area with the various
administrative demarcations.

Figure 1: Location of the North West Region of Cameroon

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 Source : NIS 2020 © Meva’a A.D. & Ejuande E.W.

1.2. Data Collection

4 The Leibniz’s hypothetical deductive methodology was used to realise this study
and it was basically on validating hypothesis from observation. The general method
of the study has been the geographical method of investigation which comprises of
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 four stages, namely observation, description, analysis and interpretation of facts of
Covid-19 in different communities in the North West Region of Cameroon. Added to
this, were the trans-disciplinary approach of research and eco-health approach
which analyses the relation between humans and environment.
5 Primary data for the study were collected on the field while secondary data were
collected from pre-existing scientific works in libraries, archives and the internet.
The data were collected from the months of December 2019 (outbreak of the
pandemic in China) to August 2020 (evaluation of the current situation in the North
West Region of Cameroon). Qualitative data were collected through observation (in-
situ observation and participating observation), and interview (direct and indirect
interview) with the local stakeholders; while quantitative data were collected
through survey (simple random survey and stratified survey). The qualitative data
were analyzed with the help of MACTOR software while quantitative data were
treated with the help of SPSS and Excel 2007.

2. Results and Discussion

2.1. Contextual situation of the area enhancing

the spread of Covid-19

2.1.1 Migratory Movements of People and Goods

6 Human beings are naturally mobile from the time of the early man who moved
from place to place, practicing hunting and gathering (Rodriguez-Morales AJ,
2020). Biologists consider movement as one of the characteristics of living things
among others like breathing, hearing, sensing and feeling. To the economists,
movement can either be sustained by push factors or pull factors in different
communities; the pull factors are those which attract a person to enter a given
community. The local populations of North West Region are attracted to the towns
of Yaoundé and Douala by employment opportunities, educational purposes, better
living conditions, availability of social facilities and the desire to live in a peaceful
environment. The push factors on the other hand comprise of repelling/driving
aspects which project an individual from his/her area of residence to a different
destination. Examples of such are unemployment, civil unrest (socio-political crisis
of the North West and South West Regions), family pressure, superstition and any
form of threat to human existence (Ganafei S., 2016).
7 Migratory movement in the North West Region of Cameroon is more active with
greater flux within the perimeters of the Region in the form of urban to urban, urban
to rural, rural to urban and rural to rural than inter regional migration. The
movement toward other Regions like the Centre, Littoral and the West became
intensified as of 2017 (a year after the outbreak of the socio-political crisis hitting the
Region), where many residents relocated to these Regions for safety. The mastery of
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 the situation in the late 2019 and the registering of the first cases of Covid-19 in
Yaoundé and in Douala in February 2020 led to a backward movement to the North
West Region by some displaced population. The return to the North West Region by
this population is partly supported by the fear to be infected by the Covid-19 at the
time the first cases were reported in Douala and in Yaoundé, and also due to the fact
that others wanted to return to their normal activities to end a living rather than
residing in the camps of the internally displaced population (IDP) or residing with a
relatives and friends. During this time, no restrictions were placed on the movement
of persons and goods, barrier measures were not enforced and the populations do
not care much about being infected by the virus; this free movement of persons and
goods to-and-fros from the North West Region stands as the pathway of the virus
into the Region. Beside, some of the populations moving into the North West Region
from Yaoundé and Douala have been in direct and indirect contact with their love
ones who returned from Europe on the 28th of February 2020, in a flight suspected
of having Covid-19 patients. These populations were not quarantined before and
after entering the North West Region. Furthermore, interurban and urban to rural
movements in the North West Region of Cameroon is currently practiced with the
overloading system of transport cars and motorcycles. It is common place to see 3-4
persons on a motorcycle parading the streets and villages in the study area. Such
overloading system which violates the WHO recommendation of one meter distance
from each other is a contributing factor to the spread of Covid-19 in the North West
Region of Cameroon (Wei X, Li X, Cui J. 2020).
8 The movement of goods has equally contributed to the spread of the virus in the
Region since the country continued importing goods from China and other countries
till the month of February 2020 despite the reports of cases of Covid-19 in those
countries. Though the Cameroon government later closed the national borders on
March 24, 2020, this was however implemented at official entry/exit points;
whereas, clandestine movements of goods and individuals continued along the areas
of Baworo, Akwaya, Ejagam and Idenao. These areas are the main clandestine
supply zones which permitted the infiltration of goods into the North West Region
despite government restrictions on imports. Clandestine or informal circulations are
often carried out within horrible contexts just to avoid official control and the actors
involved do not care much on their health and that of others; they rather pay
attention to escaping from the sight of decentralized territorial authorities in the
area. Moreover, majority of those who move clandestinely do not undergo any
medical check-up or screening before departure and so, their arrival at destination
exposes the local population to disease infection especially if they had had previous
contact with infected persons. Now therefore, clandestine movement of persons and
goods from different geographical areas into the North West Region of Cameroon
stands as a factor to the spread of Covid-19 (Shrikrushna Subhash Unhale et al;
2020).

2.1.2. Socio-Cultural System as Factor of the Spread of

Covid-19
:
 9 The two English speaking Regions of Cameroon namely the North West and South
West Regions have a particular cultural system inherited from the British during the
colonial period of 1884. The English speaking Regions also known as the
“Anglophone Regions” inherited a cultural system which enables them to live in well
structured communities whereby, cultural values like respect, tradition and loyalty
are highly promoted. The tradition considers the greeting of an elderly person
through the shaking of hands as sign of blessing to the younger generation, same as
the imposition of hands on the younger ones by the elderly as sign of prosperity. In
some traditional manifestations, the partakers drink from the same cup, eat from
the same plate, break and eat cola nut together. Example here is traditional wedding
were the bride’s uncle is the master of the scene as shown in figure 2.

Figure 2: High probability rate of the spread of Covid-19 in a traditional ceremony

Source: Field work 2020

10 Just as tradition demands, the bride’s uncle ‘A’ serves the palm wine and give to
the bride ‘B’ to drink as a sign of marriage acceptance; she would later give to the
bridegroom ‘C’ to do same. This first movement of the cup from A-B-C is denoted by
the orange line on figure 2. After he must have drunk, the latter ‘C’ would return the
cup of palm wine to his bride ‘B’ who would also handover to her uncle ‘A’ to drink
from the same cup and seal the marriage. This second movement in an inverse
manner from C-B-A is denoted by the red line on the figure 2. This represents a
typical example among others whereby the corona virus can easily spread and infect
many persons on the base of tradition. The first movement denoted by the orange
line represents low probability of being infected by the virus if and only if ‘A ‘and ‘B’
are not carriers. The second movement denoted by the red line represents high
probability of being infected by the virus if ‘C’ happens to be a carrier. The same
principle is applied to the sharing of cola nut, but the probability of spread is higher
at this stage especially if the person sharing the cola nut is already infected by the
virus or one of the partaker upstream is infected. Such traditional practices which
require the sharing of the same substance among groups of persons are recurrent in
the Region and some villages like the Esimbi, Batibo, Bali, etc; do carryout such
practices during traditional ceremonies.
11 Furthermore, the ignorance and negligence of some locals favour the spread of
Covid-19 in different communities of the North West Region of Cameroon (Zhang L,
Shen FM, Chen F, Lin Z. 2020). As earlier seen, shaking of hands and embracing are
common practices in the Region, so, any attempt by a diligent youth to avoiding
hand shake from an elderly person is considered as a sacrilege by the people of
Esimbi, Bafut, Bali, Batibo, Esu and many others (Li F. 2016).
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 2.1.3. Socio-Political Crisis as Factor of the Spread of
Covid-19 in the North West Region
12 The socio-political crisis affecting the North West and South West Regions of
Cameroon since November 2016 now portrays more negative effects on the health of
the population in both Regions. Before the crisis, medical personnel moved from one
health district to another without fear of being kidnapped or molested by whosoever,
but the coming of the crisis imposed a turn around and a complete change of
medical strategy of intervention. The crisis so far has led to the closure of hundreds
of hospitals, clinics, pharmacies and drug stores in the Region, medical personnel
have fled from the Region for safety while others merely visit their post of work
occasionally when the neighbourhoods are apparently calm or when tensions are
lessen. The crisis has created more traumas in the communities, especially to those
who have been either a direct victim or an indirect victim of kidnap and payment of
ransom, harass, looting, sexually abuse and menace of death from unknown armed
men (Spanjaard H, Khabib O. 2007, Ejuande E. W. 2017).
13 Many health centres which could have been active actors in the fight against
Covid-19 are no more operating or are partially operating due to the persistence of
the crisis. Medical personnel in the North West Region of Cameroon find it difficult
to consecrate efforts in the fight against the corona virus ravaging the community,
they consecrate more of their time and efforts to protect themselves from sudden
and sporadic attacks on the field while little efforts is reserved to the fight against
the virus itself. More than twenty medical personnel have lost their lives as a result
of the crisis and the situation is more controversial since the government military
accused the amba boys (a set of armed men fighting for the liberation of the former
British Cameroon –Ambazonia) of being responsible for the deaths and the amba
boys do likewise. In such a circumstance of the fear of the unknown, medical
personnel in the Region are unable to carry on their duty properly and the patients
in the hospitals are not receiving adequate treatment. The fear has equally restricted
the movement of medical personnel from one health district to the other and even
when they successfully arrive in a medical centre to perform their duty, they do with
lots of fear in mind because of frequent gunshots in the area, between the military
and the amba boys. The fear of the unknown has led to the neglect of patients and in
some cases, patients with different cases of illnesses like tuberculosis, malaria fever,
typhoid fever and many others are grouped together for security purposes rather
than laying emphasis on the health risk of contracting or being infected by a disease
(Chen J. 2020).
14 The imposition of ghost town (lockdown) every Monday by the secessionists
(people who desire separation between the former British Cameroon and the
French Cameroon) is a factor contributing to the spread of the virus in the area.
During the regular ghost town scheduled on Monday of the week, everything, be it
businesses or movement of persons and goods come to a standstill; any person or
business activity which dares to go operational automatically becomes the target of
the secessionists. Moreover, the ghost town imposed by the secessionists often
extends to 03, 05 and 07 days depending on their predefined agenda, in such a
context the medical personnel are unable to intervene promptly in suspected cases
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 of Covid-19 or in other cases which need medical assistance (Benvenuto D, et al;
2020).
15 It is therefore visible at this juncture that the ongoing socio-political crisis in the
North West Region is a factor of the spread of Covid-19 in the area since more efforts
are being converged toward self and family protection against the crisis rather than
on the virus itself.

2.2. Community Reconfiguration of the Sanitary

System
16 The entire sanitary system in the North West Region of Cameroon has undergone
major reconfiguration process from the onset of the pandemic in the area. The
reconfiguration process of the sanitary system is carried out by each of the
stakeholder and in various communities according to their social composition
(Hemida M.G. 2019).

2.2.1. The State and the Decentralized Territorial

Authorities
17 Before the outbreak of the pandemic in the North West Region of Cameroon, the
sanitary system had no major changes since most of the illnesses such as malaria,
Chlamydia, dysentery, HIV/AIDS, rheumatism and many others were more of
routine illnesses in the area. The government could manage these diseases called
common place illnesses. The local hospitals like the Bamenda general hospital, the
St. Elizabeth Catholic general hospital Shisong, Mbingo Baptist hospitals, Wum
District Hospital, PMI Nkwen and the Banso Baptist Hospital, had a trained team
and infrastructure to contain patients suffering from these common place illnesses,
though the management system and infrastructures were not sufficient to provide
appropriate health care to the local populations in dire need.
18 The outbreak of the pandemic in Cameroon and in the North West Region in
particular greatly imposed the urgent need of revising the sanitary system which was
being neglected by the government and other stakeholders. It is on this base that the
president of the republic of Cameroon H.E Paul Biya outlined strategic measures to
fight against the pandemic on March 17, 2020; the initiative led to the publishing of
texts, sensitization, training of medical personnel and the provision of sanitary
equipment to the general public. The measures were a total of seven and some of
them were: systematic wearing of facemask, local production of drugs, screening
test, hydro alcoholic gel, creation of specialized Covid-19 centres, intensification of
testing campaign, intensification of sensitization campaign, carry out essential
activities and lay sanction on defaulters. They were not exhaustive since other
measures were envisaged according to the evolution of the virus. The government
later outlines a couple of protective and prevention measures against the virus which
were to be implemented by the population of the North West Region of Cameroon as
well as in all other Regions within the national territory. These measures are being
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 reinforced by various decentralized authorities in their respective area of
competences. Beginning from the Governor, the Senior Divisional Officers, Regional
Delegations of Public Health, Education, Social Welfare, Sport and Physical
Education, Fishery and Animal Husbandry and many others do pass out circular
letters on the need to respect and fully implement the barriers measures. Moreover,
in their various outings, these stakeholders sensitize the population through
television programs (CRTV, Equinox, STV, and Canal 2), radio programs (CRTV
Bamenda, Radio hot cocoa, and Gospel radio station), group sensitization and door-
to-door sensitization. On June 07, 2020, some 5750 persons were sensitized and
from the 06th of March to the 06th of June 2020, some 286 809 persons were
already sensitized (RDPH 2020).
19 The government equally calls on each inhabitant put on facemask and practice
regular hand wash during the day. School authorities on their part were to ensure
that each student has a facemask worn properly to prevent infection or the spread of
the virus in school premises.
20 Furthermore, the Cameroon government engaged in the training of medical
personnel (special team of Covid-19) who would intervene in any suspected case of
Covid-19 in the country. The trained medical personnel were to give further training
to their colleagues at the Regional, Divisional and Sub-divisional levels. In the North
West Region of Cameroon, all the 19 health districts have trained medical personnel
who are ready to intervene in any suspected case of Covid-19 and the government
has also earmarked appropriate hospitals or Covid-19 centres to receive patients and
provide medical care. The creation of Covid-19 centres like the pandemic incident
centre was as a result of increasing number of cases from 01 on April 20, 2020 to
684 on July 27th 2020 (RDPH 2020). The creation of such centres is accompanied
by the provision of basic necessary sanitary equipment. The Regional Delegate of
Public Health (Covid-19 pandemic Incident Management for the North West
Region) calls on the population to respect all barrier measures and do well to contact
health personnel for assistance. The table 1 represents Health Districts and contacts
of health personnel in the Region.

Table 1: Health Districts and emergency contact of health personnel in the North
West Region

Health
Contact Health District Contact
District

Ako 677775529 Ndop 679911853

Bafut 677802159 Ndu 654492203

Bali 677319374 Njikwa 677101901

Bamenda 679167140 Nkambe 650077258

Batibo 677364809 Nwa 674334230

Benakuma 675318490 Oku 675516307

Funding 677866226 Tubah 677412062

:
 Kumbo East 675919418 Santa 678801756

Kumbo West 674283400 Wum 676375983

Regional Delegation of Public 233361503/ 650335693/

Mbengwi 674022962
Health 1510

Source: Regional Delegation of Public Health NW Region

21 The central government put in place a general telephone number 1510 to receive
calls from all corners of the national territory but the strategy could not satisfy the
majority of the population suffering from the corona virus. The Regional Delegation
of Public Health for the North West Region came out with a new strategy of one-
Health-District one-emergency-contact as presented in table 1. This strategy has
permitted the rapid intervention of health personnel in any suspected case of Covid-
19 in various communities.
22 The government efforts have not only been limited to the aforementioned, but
extend to the provision of material equipment like buckets, soap, facemasks, hand
sanitizers, hand gloves and many others to the local population and to the medical
personnel. The material gifts destined to the local population are limited to soap,
buckets, facemasks and hand sanitizers. This initiative has equally been sustained by
the government national solidarity campaign launched to the general public, many
individuals, companies and business organizations contributed to this government
initiative. The table 2 represents selected number of donors in the plan.

Table 2: Selected donors of the Government solidarity campaign in the fight against
Covid-19

Donors Description/value

Jean de Dieu
500 000 FCFA
Momo

Elections
5 000 000 FCFA
Cameroon

MTN 10 000 000 FCFA

Express Union SA 25 000 000 FCFA

Contribution from
100 000 000 FCFA
Senate

Groupe Baba
100 000 000 FCFA
Danpoulo

15 000 surgical masks, 1000 protective lenses, 4000 litres of

Dangoté
alcoholic gel and many others

Source: MINSANTE 2020

23 The national solidarity campaign saw the donation of more liquid cash than
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 material goods from the general public as presented on the table 2 with selected
donors. The financial contributions yielded a total of one billion, six hundred and
eighty seven million, four hundred and ninety-nine thousand, seven hundred and
twenty seven (1 687 499 727 FCFA) francs CFA (MINSANTE 2020).
24 The president of the republic of Cameroon H.E Paul Biya gave material gifts to be
distributed in the entire territory and the minister of territorial administration Paul
Atanga Nji handed the portion destined for the North West Region to the governor
of the North West Region Adolphe Lélé Lafrique, who then dispatches to the
Divisional and Sub-divisional Officers in their respective jurisdictions and to the
beneficiaries (the local populations). Also, the government initially launched
confinement strategy against the virus and it was relieved in the month of June, to
permit students return to school and business activities to take on. Presently, the
local authorities in the North West Region of Cameroon ensure that anybody
suspected of being infected by the virus stays in Covid-19 centres for two weeks
under observation before confirming whether it is positive or negative. The
president of the republic further passed out decree № 2020/193 of 15 April 2020 to
commute and remit sentences of prisoners as a measure to reduce overcrowding in
prisons within the national territory.
25 Since the fight is a global one, all the various chieftaincies, councils and urban
councils work hand-in-glove with the central government to see that the pandemic
comes to an end in the North West Region of Cameroon. All the government efforts
so far are being concretized by the local decentralized authorities. Beside the
initiative from the central government, individual chieftaincy, council and Regional
Delegation takes personal initiative of sensitizing, providing material gifts to their
respective population to help combat the common enemy. They implement the
government barrier measures at the regional level by ensuring that all gatherings
should not exceed 50 persons and the local councils have set wash points in public
places like the local markets and council areas.
26 Lastly, the government has put in place a special team of medical personnel in
charge of burial. Once a Covid-19 patient dies, the medical team quickly intervenes
to convey the corps directly to the grave. In cases where the bereaved family
attempts to mount resistance, the medical team immediate calls for the attention of
the police and gendarms who would intervene and permit the dead body to be
transported to the grave; this is to prevent the love ones to be infected by the virus.
27 Beside the carrots measures given to the population to fight against the virus, the
government equally sets out coercive measures on defaulters which took effect on
the April 13, 2020. The security forces combined (police, gendarms and the military)
usually charge a penalty of 6000 FCFA to defaulters who do not move around with
facemask.

2.2.2. The Local Population

28 Historically, the indigenous populations of the North West Region are
conservators of tradition and have high respect of traditional values; they also have a
trans-generational cultural life and believe. Disease infection in the area is most
often handled traditionally, except in special cases which require modern treatment
:
 methods. Cases of malaria fever, typhoid fever, injuries and fractures and a host of
other infections/diseases are often treated traditionally. Since the first cases of
Covid-19 were announced in Cameroon, the population of the North West Region
engaged in a multiple defensive strategy to counterattack the pandemic. It is believe
in the area that all existing treatment of malaria can help prevent people from the
corona virus, so, the populations do constantly consume Artemisia, chloroquine and
a combination of herbs and truck of trees. It is noted from field observations that
more than 80% of the local populations prefer traditional method of treatment to
modern treatment in the area (Lu H. 2020).
29 The pandemic situation in the area is like a revival of the basic principles of
hygiene and sanitation which were taught and forgotten or neglected by the
population but now, it has revived the sense of hygiene in the community. Though
the populations are more conscious to practice personal hygiene, this is on the bases
of facts and figures from medical personnel on the number of persons who have died
of the virus. They are now engaged in constant hand washing exercise. Bucket of
water or other reservoirs and soap are placed at the entrance of some homes to
permit everyone entry the house to wash their hands; drinking spots and eateries do
likewise. In the absence of running water and soap to wash the hands, the
population uses hand sterilizer at home and out of the home. The local populations
also collaborate with the government to respect barrier measures by putting on
facemask; about 95% of the facemasks are locally made and the cost varies from 100
FCFA to 500 FCFA.
30 The pandemic has inspired the local populations to implement what they consider
as preventive method against the virus. Since the populations in the Region prefer
traditional treatment method to modern treatment, they consume more of natural
herbs and locally made drugs. Some individuals have resorted to drinking of warm
water mixed with lime and fever grass (Cymbopogon or lemongrass) every mornings
and evenings to protect themselves from the virus. Others do take chloroquine 200
mg, Artemisia 40g, Azithromycin 500mg, Paracetamol 500 mg etc; all these
products are to combat against the symptoms of the virus which are; fever,
headache, common cool, sweat, cough, difficulty to breathe, etc.

2.2.3. The Civil Society and the International Community

31 The role of the civil society and the international community are perceptible in
multiple dimensions. The civil society comprises of local groups and associations,
Non-governmental Organization (NGO’s) and the elites of the area. On the other
hand, the active actors under the banner of the international community are the
Chinese government, the United Nations agencies like WHO, UNHCR, UNICEF and
the doctors without borders known in French as médecins sans frontières (MSF).
32 One of the major efforts of the civil society has been the sensitization of the
population, especially members of various social groups and associations. The
success of sensitization method through socio-cultural groups and associations in
the North West Region of Cameroon is due to the fact that close to 98% of the
population belongs to social groups called “family meeting, njangi, association of
former students, etc,” Most of these social groups and associations meet on a weekly
:
 base to discuss the affairs of their union, some of the associations do meet and
discuss on their activities in the presence of the members while others do meet
online through social media (WhatsApp groups, Google cloud meeting, instagram,
facebook, etc). During such gatherings, the message of barrier measures is been
preached to the members who later inform their respective family members. Local
churches in the area constantly repeat the message of barrier measures to their
members each time they meet. In some local churches like the Full Gospel church
Benabinge, the leaders have printed the barrier measures and past on the notice
board. The local churches just like the other social groups and associations have
provided water and soap and/or hand sanitizer at the entrance of their place of
gathering to permit members to wash hands before accessing the hall.
33 Some companies have contributed both in kind and/or in cash to the government
national solidarity campaign to the fight against Covid-19. Example is the OLAM
Cameroun S.A, Cameroon Petroleum Company and Groupe Nobru which
contributed 50 million FCFA, 30 million FCFA and 20 million FCFA respectively.
34 The international community on its part has engaged in the provision of material
equipment to the local populations and to the medical personnel. The Chinese
government provided 5 000 mask KN95, 22 000 surgical masks, 2 000 protective
eye lenses, 48 test kits etc; Addax Petroleum provided 225 000 protective masks,
75 000 medical gloves, 50 000 boxes of 14 tablets of 100mg hydroxychloroquine,
etc. The WHO as well provided vehicles of the type 4X4 as a means to fight the virus.
These material gifts were distributed to the ten Regions of Cameroon and the North
West Region in particular benefited from these gifts. The international community
through WHO and UNICEF also help to carry out screening campaign. In the
Matazem and Widikum areas, more than 105 000 and 6 800 persons were screened
respectively by the 05th of May 2020 (RDPH 2020). After screening, all positive
cases presented no symptoms or mild symptoms were quarantined at Azam Hotel in
Bamenda.

2.3. Repercussions of Covid-19 in the North

West Region of Cameroon
35 The pandemic situation of corona virus just like the lake Nyos gas disaster of the
21st August 1986 is among the worse situation the North West Region has known
and the local population is suffering from the aftermath of the explosion, coupled
with the present pandemic situation. The repercussions of the pandemic situation in
the Region touch a multiple of sectors with varying magnitude of loses in properties,
finances and in human lives (Chen Z.; Zhang W.; Lu Y et al; 2020).
36 On the social plan, the pandemic situation has been deteriorating from the onset
with many new cases of persons infected by the virus and others dying on a daily
base (Munster V.J. 2020). The pandemic situation in the Region is represented in
the table 3.

Table 3: Reported cases of Covid-19 in the North West Region of Cameroon

Health Cumulative number of Number of Number Number of

:
 № District positive cases recoveries of deaths active cases

1 AKO 4 0 0 4

2 BAFUT 21 12 0 9

3 BALI 11 10 0 1

4 BAMENDA 467 317 51 99

5 BATIBO 5 3 1 1

6 BENAKUMA 0 0 0 0

7 FUNDONG 84 64 9 11

KUMBO
8 23 21 1 1
EAST

KUMBO
9 9 1 0 8
WEST

10 MBENGWI 4 3 0 1

11 NDOP 2 1 1 0

12 NDU 0 0 0 0

13 NJIKWA 0 0 0 0

14 NKAMBE 14 1 1 12

15 OKU 0 0 0 0

16 NWA 0 0 0 0

17 SANTA 16 11 0 5

18 TUBAH 18 12 0 6

19 WUM 6 2 1 3

Total 684 458 65 161

Source: Regional Delegation of Public Health for the North West (RDPH), July 2020

37 Table 3 presents increasing number of infected persons and deaths in the North
West Region of Cameroon. Bamenda represents the epicentre of the corona virus
infection with a total of 467 positive cases, 99 active cases and 51 deaths as of the
27th July 2020 (RDPH 2020). This situation can be accounted for by the strategic
position of the town which is also the capital city of the Region and receives the
highest number of persons entering and leaving the town. The massive demographic
movement of population from other Regions into Bamenda is usually unnoticed by
:
 the administrative authorities who are taken by surprise as the number of infected
persons keeps swelling due to the absence of proper medical control of those entry
the town. On this base, it is evident that massive demographic movement into the
town of Bamenda without corresponding medical control and care would definitely
leads to increase infection in the community. The statistics presented in the table 1
and showing zero case of Covid-19 in the Benakuma, Ndu, Njikwa, Oku and Nwa
Health Districts do not in any way justify that these Health Districts are free from
the virus infection since about a hundred persons have been quarantined while
others prefer to hide themselves.
38 The WHO and the Cameroon government recommend the wearing of facemask as
a means to prevent further infection in the society, but, the problem of the facemask
identified in the North West Region is that the inhabitants use the same facemask
for more than three days without replacement or washing. Such practice places the
population at high risk of being infected by the virus or contracting other air borne
diseases like tuberculosis, influenza, asthma, etc. In the health districts of
Benakuma, Nwa, Oku and Bali etc, some inhabitants put on the facemask
throughout the day irrespective of the social distance from others, this makes
breathing difficult as some even suffocate in their masks.
39 The repercussions of the pandemic are also felt in the family setup and the
education milieu. The persistent negative effects of the pandemic have led to the loss
of family and social ties in the community. Today, family members cannot easily
group themselves to discuss family issues as it was the case before the pandemic.
There is a spirit of dissociation in families and in other social gatherings since the
government restricted social gatherings to a maximum of 50 persons. In the same
light, the academic calendar of the Region has been distorted by the pandemic,
students of the final year and those in higher levels of studies only resumed in the
month of June while secondary school students in intermediate classes only went to
school to collect their results. The pandemic situation made students not to complete
their normal learning hours and teachers have not completed their programs for the
year. Beside, the parents are economically poor, instead of permitting the children to
register for holiday classes, they prefer to keep them at home, let them go hawking
on the streets and villages, take them to farm, etc. Such a situation would definitely
have a devastating effect on the young generation who are supposed to be leaders of
tomorrow (Kern J. 2020).
40 On the economic plan, the pandemic has greatly paralyzed business activities in
the North West Region of Cameroon (Ayittey F.K, et al; 2020). In Cameroon, the
North West Region is among the first labour providers to agro industrial plantations
located in the South West Region (the CDC, Delmonté, Palm’or), in the Littoral
Region (SOCAPALM, CDC, PHP) and the West Region. Only few companies are
based in the Region, some of them are; the Ndawara Tea Estate, Bamenda Palm
Company, Bamenda Police Co-operative Credit Union Ltd, Bio Oil Investment Ltd,
etc; and they recruit insignificant number of persons compared to the total
population, so, the mass of labour force migrate to other Regions in search for
employment as it has always been the case. Now therefore, the coming of the corona
virus has rather amplified the existing unemployment situation and many employees
of the private sector have been sent home under the pretext of technical leave while
others have completely loss their employment as a result of the Covid-19. Most
:
 private enterprises in the Region have laid off about one third of their employees
while others which still have about half of theirs, do not pay regular salaries or
complete salaries. Businessmen have loss more than half of their profit margins in
the Region while other business structures have simply closed down activities. On
the bases of these, the populations in the Region now have very low living standards
compared to the pre-pandemic period. Moreover, the prices of some drugs consider
to fight against the symptoms of Covid-19 have been on an increase at the beginning
of the crisis. Before the pandemic, 40g of Artemisia was sold at 2000 FCFA but now
the same quantity is sold at 3500 FCFA, lime of 3.5 centimetre in diameter was sold
at 25 FCFA but now 100 FCFA.
41 On the religious plan, believers are of the view that true love is best expressed
without restrictions, that is, each believer is free to give a hand shake as a means to
express brotherly love. Paradoxically, the Covid-19 has made the government to
outline barriers measures which greatly discourage the shaking of hands. Presently,
there exist controversies in the religious and cultural milieu on the issue of hand
shake. Many feel despise and frustrated when they are not given a handshake or
when someone refuses to accept a handshake. Such a frustration leads to the loss of
social ties in the community and installation of fear in the minds of the local
populations.

Conclusion
42 This paper aims at analyzing the root cause of the increasing number of infected
persons from Covid-19 despite the implementation of several preventive measures
by different stakeholders in the North West Region of Cameroon and the various
strategies of stakeholders in the 19 Health Districts to fight against the pandemic.
43 The study made used of primary and secondary data for analysis and the results
reveal a set of factors responsible for the spread of Covid-19 in the North West
Region of Cameroon. Some of them are; uncontrollable movement of persons and
goods in and out of the town, socio-cultural setting of the Region and the socio-
political crisis ravaging the Region since November 2016. This prevailing situation
has been at the base of community reconfiguration of the sanitary system of the
Region where public and private stakeholders intervene to bring the pandemic
situation under control. The reconfiguration concerns mostly the creation of
pandemic centre, training of health personnel, reorganization of the hospital
framework, setting up of wash point in both public and private spaces, etc.
Unfortunately, stakeholders’ intervention is yet to bring significant changes to the
situation, reason for which the repercussions are evaluated in terms of increase
number of deaths to 65 persons, infected persons (684 persons) and those being
tested positive (161 persons) as of July 27th, 2020 (Regional Delegation for the
North West Region, Cameroon), increase rate of unemployment and loss of social
ties.
44 In view of this, the paper proposes community participation of all stakeholders as
a panacea to eradicating Covid-19 in the North West Region of Cameroon. Each local
community in the 19 Health Districts and the various stakeholders should strive
:
 toward the same direction of eliminating the virus. Digital platforms should be
encouraged for the sensitization of the local population and the cost should be at the
reach of the users. It further recommends the full implementation of barriers
measures outlined by the WHO and those of the Cameroon government. Sanitary
equipment like facemask, soap, bucket, hand sanitizer, testing kits, etc, should be
made available to various communities especially the epicentre of Bamenda and
other Health Districts with high number of infected cases like Fundong, Kombo East
and Bafut, without neglecting Health Districts like Benakuma, Ndu, Oku, Njikwa
and Nwa which have not yet register infected cases of Covid-19. Local authorities
must ensure that these barrier measures are fully respected and the local
populations should be conscious enough for their wellbeing and those of others.

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Table des illustrations

Titre Figure 1: Location of the North West Region of Cameroon

Crédits Source : NIS 2020 © Meva’a A.D. & Ejuande E.W.
http://journals.openedition.org/etudescaribeennes/docannexe/image/22727/img-
URL
1.png
Fichier image/png, 411k
Figure 2: High probability rate of the spread of Covid-19 in a traditional
Titre
ceremony
Crédits Source: Field work 2020
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Pour citer cet article

Référence électronique
Dominique Meva’A Abomo, Emmanuel Wonomu Ejuande et Armand Ndewe, « Fight
Against Covid-19 Pandemic in the Context of Socio-Political Crisis: the Case of the North
West Region of Cameroon », Études caribéennes [En ligne], 49 | Août 2021, mis en ligne le
30 août 2021, consulté le 04 avril 2023. URL :
http://journals.openedition.org/etudescaribeennes/22727 ; DOI :
https://doi.org/10.4000/etudescaribeennes.22727
:
 Auteurs
Dominique Meva’A Abomo
HDR, Société Savante Cheikh Anta Diop (SS-CAD), Faculty of Letters and Social
Sciences, University of Douala-Cameroon, mevaa_abomo@ss-cad.org

Emmanuel Wonomu Ejuande

Ph.D, Société Savante Cheikh Anta Diop (SS-CAD), Faculty of Letters and Social
Sciences, University of Douala-Cameroon, emmanuelejuande@yahoo.f

Armand Ndewe
Ph.D, Société Savante Cheikh Anta Diop (SS-CAD), Faculty of Letters and Social
Sciences, University of Douala-Cameroon, ndeweals@yahoo.fr

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