In Cameroon, mental illness remains one of the most misunderstood and least protected health challenges, even as conflict, displacement, poverty and economic strain continue to take a heavy psychological toll on millions of citizens. Despite the scale of need, the country’s mental health system is constrained by weak legal protections, limited ethical oversight and chronic underinvestment.
Health experts warn that Cameroon is facing a quiet but deepening mental health emergency—one driven not only by illness, but by policy gaps that leave vulnerable people without care or protection.
A Fragile Legal Framework
Cameroon does not yet have a comprehensive, stand-alone mental health law that clearly protects the rights of people living with mental illness. While elements of mental health care are referenced within broader health and criminal justice regulations, there is no unified legal framework governing consent, involuntary treatment, community-based care or independent oversight.
This legal fragmentation has real consequences. In many communities, individuals with severe mental illness are restrained, isolated or confined—often by families acting out of fear and desperation. Faith-based and traditional healing centres, which play an important cultural role, operate largely without regulation, raising ethical concerns about coercive practices and prolonged confinement.
Suicide, Stigma and Legal Ambiguity
Cameroon’s legal approach to suicide remains contested. Attempted suicide is treated within criminal law, a position that mental health advocates argue deepens stigma and discourages help-seeking behaviour. “When distress is criminalised, people hide their suffering,” a regional mental health advocate said.
Global evidence consistently shows that punitive suicide laws increase fear, silence and preventable deaths. Experts are calling for Cameroon to follow international best practice by decriminalising suicide attempts and addressing them as medical and psychosocial emergencies rather than criminal acts.
Ethical Oversight Under Strain
Although Cameroon’s Constitution recognises the right to health, enforcement remains uneven, particularly in conflict-affected regions of the North-West and South-West, where prolonged violence has displaced hundreds of thousands and exposed civilians to sustained trauma.
Reports from civil society organisations highlight concerns over forced treatment, lack of informed consent and the absence of patient-centred care in both formal and informal settings. With no independent mental health oversight bodies, ethical violations often go undocumented and unaddressed.
Conflict, Crisis and Limited Care
Cameroon’s mental health burden has been intensified by years of armed conflict, insecurity in the Far North linked to insurgency, and economic hardship. Internally displaced persons, refugees and survivors of violence face elevated risks of depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety.
Yet mental health services remain concentrated in urban centres such as Yaoundé and Douala, leaving rural and conflict-affected populations with little or no access to care. Severe shortages of psychiatrists, psychologists and psychiatric nurses further strain an already fragile system.
A Region Moving Forward
Across Africa, momentum is building for mental health reform. Nigeria enacted a landmark Mental Health Act in 2023, strengthening rights-based care and accountability. Ghana and Kenya have also advanced legal and policy reforms.
Cameroon risks falling behind unless it modernises its mental health governance. Analysts stress that legislation alone is not a cure—but without a legal foundation, sustainable investment and ethical enforcement remain unlikely.
A Call for Urgent Reform
Mental health advocates are urging Cameroonian authorities to adopt a modern Mental Health Act aligned with international human rights standards, including the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Key recommendations include:
Clear legal protection of patient rights and informed consent
Regulation and oversight of involuntary treatment
Decriminalisation of suicide attempts
Integration of mental health into primary healthcare
Sustainable public financing and workforce expansion
Beyond Policy
Cameroon’s mental health challenge is not simply medical—it is moral and political. Without decisive leadership, legal reform and sustained investment, millions will continue to suffer in silence, excluded from care and dignity.
Mental health reform is no longer optional. It is a measure of Cameroon’s commitment to human rights, social stability and national development.
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