Context
For more than a decade, Cameroon has been confronted with a complex and protracted humanitarian crisis, driven by armed conflict in the North-West and South-West regions, persistent insecurity in the Far North, significant population displacement, refugee inflows from neighboring countries, and recurrent climate-related shocks. These compounded factors have placed sustained pressure on the health system and increased humanitarian needs.
Within this context, the Health Cluster, activated in 2018 under the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) Cluster Approach, has played a central role in ensuring a coordinated, predictable and accountable health response. It has contributed to structuring interventions, facilitating partner engagement, and promoting a response aligned with the needs and priorities of affected populations.
A strategic reorientation of coordination modalities
In line with evolving global humanitarian priorities, including the “Humanitarian Reset” and the “accelerated transition agenda” endorsed by the IASC, Cameroon has been identified as one of the eight pilot countries for the progressive shift towards nationally anchored coordination mechanisms. This strategic reorientation reflects a broader commitment to strengthening localization, enhancing efficiency, and reinforcing national ownership of humanitarian action.
The transition of the Health Cluster is therefore conceived as a structured and gradual process through which leadership and core coordination functions are transferred to national authorities, under the stewardship of the Ministry of Public Health (MoH), with continued technical support from the World Health Organization (WHO) and health sector partners. By 2027, health emergency coordination in Cameroon is expected to be fully assumed by national systems, with WHO maintaining a targeted support role as “Provider of Last Resort (PoLR)”.
A dual objective: continuity and sustainability
This transition is guided by a dual objective. On the one hand, it seeks to ensure the continuity and effectiveness of the humanitarian health response in a context of persistent and evolving needs. On the other hand, it aims to sustainably strengthen national capacities for governance, coordination and leadership in the health sector.
A sequenced and structured transition framework
The transition is articulated around three sequential and interdependent phases. The initial phase, completed in 2025, focused on securing political commitment, ensuring institutional alignment and validating the transition framework. This is followed by a co-leadership phase in 2026, during which coordination responsibilities are jointly assumed by the MoH and WHO. The final phase consists of a progressive transfer of responsibilities, culminating in the stabilization of national coordination mechanisms and the eventual deactivation of the Health Cluster by 2027. A well-structured and phased transition approach is essential to preserving operational continuity while progressively strengthening and institutionalizing national leadership and ownership.
Progressive transfer of core functions
The transition entails the gradual transfer of key Health Cluster functions to national and decentralized systems. These functions encompass coordination, information management, strategic planning, preparedness and response, monitoring and evaluation, as well as accountability to affected populations.
The process is underpinned by a set of fundamental principles, including national leadership, a gradual and sequenced approach, accountability to affected populations, respect for humanitarian principles, the promotion of localization, and alignment with the humanitarian-development-peace nexus.
Institutional strengthening and systems integration
A central pillar of the transition is the strengthening of national systems. Information management mechanisms will progressively be integrated into national platforms, thereby enhancing data harmonization and supporting evidence-based decision-making. Health sector planning will continue to be informed by humanitarian needs assessments while being aligned with national strategies and priorities.
Preparedness and response capacities will be reinforced through the institutionalization of joint assessments and simulation exercises. In parallel, monitoring, evaluation and accountability frameworks will be embedded within national systems, with particular attention to community engagement and accountability to affected populations.
Priority thematic areas
The transition gives particular attention to the integration of critical thematic areas into national systems and programmes. These include sexual and reproductive health, mental health and psychosocial support, refugee health, and the surveillance of attacks on healthcare. Technical support will continue to be provided by specialized agencies, including UNFPA, IOM, UNHCR and WHO, to ensure continuity and quality of interventions in these domains.
Contextualized and decentralized coordination approaches
In alignment with the guidance of the Humanitarian Country Team (HCT), the transition adopts differentiated coordination approaches tailored to specific operational contexts. In the Far North region, the Area-Based Coordination Plus (ABC+) model promotes integrated and multisectoral coordination, fostering synergies between humanitarian and development interventions to strengthen resilience. In the North-West and South-West regions, the Area-Based Coordination (ABC) model supports proximity-based coordination adapted to conflict-affected settings, with enhanced engagement of local actors while ensuring adherence to humanitarian principles and consideration of access constraints. Context-specific coordination modalities are critical to ensuring relevance, effectiveness and accountability in complex humanitarian settings.
Advancing national leadership and ownership
A significant milestone in the transition process has been the formal commitment of the MoH. The Minister has designated a national structure to co-coordinate the health sector during the transition period, identified national institutions to lead technical working groups in Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) and Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS), and actively engaged in joint coordination mechanisms with WHO. This commitment has been operationalized through the co-chairing of Health Cluster meetings at the Public Health Emergency Operations Centre (CCOUSP), marking a decisive step towards the institutionalization of national leadership in health emergency coordination.
In addition, the Minister has expressed its commitment to support the progressive engagement of Regional Delegations of Health and Health Districts, particularly in the North-West, South-West and Far North regions, in line with the transition plan validated by partners. In line with the localization agenda, national non-governmental organizations will also be actively engaged in coordination leadership roles at both national and decentralized levels, contributing to a more inclusive, context-responsive and sustainable coordination architecture.
Opportunities and critical enablers
The transition presents a strategic opportunity to strengthen the resilience of the health system, enhance the efficiency and coherence of the response, and promote sustainable national ownership. However, its successful implementation will depend on several critical enablers, including sustained investment in institutional capacity development, effective partnerships between national and international stakeholders, and predictable and adequate financing.
WHO will continue to play a pivotal role as Provider of Last Resort (PoLR), ensuring that essential health services are maintained in areas where gaps persist and needs remain acute.
Conclusion
The transition of the Health Cluster in Cameroon represents a significant and forward-looking transformation of humanitarian coordination. It illustrates how a structured, phased and partnership-driven approach can support the progressive localization of coordination mechanisms while preserving operational effectiveness and ensuring sustained access to essential health services for vulnerable populations.
