Concept note

Cameroon, like several countries in sub-Saharan Africa, has developed its National Strategic Plan for Community Health 2021-2025 (Minsanté, 2021). Its aim is to lay the foundations for the sustainability of the Interventions Sous Directive Communautaire, in order to permanently improve the performance indicators of public health programmes. In particular, it is based on indicators for maternal and child health, for the fight against priority diseases and conditions, including Neglected Tropical Diseases, and for the health of the general population in all communities in the whole of Cameroon’s Health Districts. It is important to mention here that Community Health is the cornerstone of the implementation of all health interventions. Health promotion, on the other hand, is a process that empowers people to take greater control over and improve their health (Public Health Agency of Canada, 1986). It refers to all acts, management and actions whose purpose is to prevent, facilitate diagnosis and promote treatment for a significant number of people in the community. The context in which the Ottawa Charter is applied is largely dominated by the health implications of the globalisation of cultural and economic exchanges (Deschamps, 2003). This charter is a reference framework of methods for adapting health practices to combat the negative effects of globalisation. At present, there is no explicit public policy in favour of health promotion in Cameroon, hence the relevance of the choice of this colloquium.