Culture, biomedicine and child mortality in Cameroon

This article is based on a field study conducted by the authors in East Cameroon in 1987-1988 and on written sources available, including U.N. and Cameroon government statistics. It focuses on two major issues, namely, the relationship between biomedical assumptions and programs and traditional cultural tenets and the impact of both on child mortality in Cameroon's East Province. It contrasts the problems of disease and mortality in the area as reflected in official statistics with the actual health situation in the Province in light of resilient beliefs, attitudes, and practices that hinder rather than facilitate the effectiveness of immunization campaigns undertaken by the government to save the child. The study concludes by discussing policy choices and steps that both the government and the affected people might consider to remedy the region's disappointing health conditions.