Mbalmayo, August 11, 2025 – The Ministry of Public Health of Cameroon (MINSANTE) convened a high-level strategic workshop from August 11 to 13, 2025, at the Mbalmayo International Conference Center. The objective was to develop the National Plan for Preparedness and Response to Yellow Fever Epidemics in Urban Areas for the period 2025-2028.

Supported technically by the World Health Organization (WHO) and financially by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the workshop brought together approximately 40 stakeholders to design a robust framework for anticipating, preventing, and responding to yellow fever outbreaks in urban settings. This effort follows the detection of yellow fever cases in Douala during 2023-24.

This initiative aligns with the Eliminate Yellow Fever Epidemics (EYE) strategy, which aims to prevent yellow fever epidemics globally. A key focus is enhancing urban preparedness to ensure rapid detection and effective response. The 2016 outbreak in Angola and subsequent spread to the Democratic Republic of Congo underscored the potential severity of urban yellow fever epidemics.

Today, several factors heighten the risk of international spread, including globalization, rapid urbanization, and climate change, which affects the distribution of Aedes aegypti, the primary urban vector.

Workshop objectives

• Identify priority actions to strengthen urban yellow fever preparedness and response.

• Establish strategic foundations for an operational framework adapted to local realities; 

• Promote intersectoral coordination and energize partnerships for a unified response.

A collaborative, multisectoral approach

Participants included representatives from key institutions such as MINSANTE (DLMEP, DPS, PNLP, DOST, ONSP, DSF, CIS, CCOUSP, PEV)1, the Pasteur Center of Cameroon, the Yaoundé Central Hospital, the Center for Research on Infectious Diseases (CRID), as well as technical partners such as WHO, UNICEF, CDC, FIRC, and experts from the HSSD-Group. Urban public health actors such as UN-Habitat were also invited.

The multidisciplinary panel featured entomologists, infectious disease specialists, epidemiologists, surveillance experts, vaccinologists, planners, communicators, and public health professionals.

Discussions centered around seven strategic pillars:

• Coordination

• Collaborative surveillance

• Community protection

• Clinical management

• Vaccination

• Vector control

• Points of entry and International Health Regulations compliance

Building urban resilience

Participants reviewed and provided recommendations on the draft WHO handbook for managing urban yellow fever risks. Cameroon’s contributions will help strengthen urban resilience and prevent international disease spread.

National mobilization for health security

«Yellow fever poses an epidemic threat... This initiative demonstrates Cameroon's commitment to protecting its urban populations against this disease, » said Dr. Onambele Paul Marie, Deputy Director of Epidemic and Pandemic Control at MINSANTE.

«Collaboration with our international partners will enable us to develop a coordinated and effective approach. »

The roadmap developed during the workshop marks a significant milestone in the creation of the 2025-2028 strategic plan - a vital tool for enhancing the resilience of Cameroon's health system against urban epidemic threats.

Footnotes

1. DLMEP: Directorate for the Control of Diseases, Epidemics, and Pandemics; DPS: Directorate for Health Promotion; PNLP: National Malaria Control Program; DOST: Directorate for Health Care Organization and Technology; ONSP: National Public Health Observatory; DSF: Directorate for Family Health; CIS: Health Information Unit; CCOUSP: Public Health Emergency Coordination Center; PEV: Expanded Program on Immunization. ↩

2. HSSD-Group: Health Systems Strengthening and Development.