Over the previous 12 years, significant progress has been made toward improving health and saving the lives of millions of people around the world. Life expectancy has risen, maternity and child mortality rates have fallen, and we have successfully combated a number of life-threatening infectious diseases.

The number of children dying before reaching the age of five has reduced by 58 percent, from 12.6 million in 1990 to 5.4 million in 2017. In just ten years, the number of women dying from childbirth and pregnancy problems has decreased by 35%. The number of adults and children dying from HIV-related diseases was expected to be 770,000 in 2018, down 45 percent from the disease’s peak in 2004.

Cameroon’s child mortality rate was 74.8 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2019. Cameroon’s child mortality rate dropped from 210.1 deaths per 1,000 live births in 1970 to 74.8 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2019.

While this development is impressive, millions of people still die needlessly each year from preventable but life-threatening diseases such as malaria and water-borne ailments. In many parts of Cameroon, neglected tropical illnesses are still a big danger, while new global health challenges such global pandemics, urbanization, noncommunicable diseases, and mental illness are putting increasing burden on communities and health systems.

Malnutrition, inadequate access to clean water and sanitation, limited access to education and health services, and gender-based violence all contribute to persisting disparities in health outcomes. This is why H4BF is dedicated to improving health by preventing preventable maternal, neonatal, and child deaths, combating life-threatening diseases, and guaranteeing access to safe drinking water and sanitation, particularly in low-income communities.