Health services utilisation before and during an armed conflict; Experiences from the Southwest region of Cameroon

Abstract Background Armed conflicts are a threat to the health of populations in affected areas. The threat is either by direct injury or disruption of health services delivery and utilisation. There has been an armed ‘Anglophone crisis’ in the English-speaking regions of Cameroon from 2017. We hypothesized the armed conflict disrupted the utilisation of health services. We present findings of the effects of the armed conflict on health service utilisation in the Southwest region of Cameroon. Methods A retrospective study of surveillance data was carried out between 2016 and 2018. Regional data for selected routine immunisation, reproductive health, disease surveillance and HIV/AIDS indicators were retrieved from the regional database. Data was presented as frequencies. Results Generally, there was an improvement in health service utilisation indicators from 2016 to 2017 followed by a decline in 2018. The DPT3 vaccination coverage dropped from 90% in 2017 to 55% in 2018; deliveries attended by qualified personnel dropped from 46% in 2017 to 26% in 2018; the absolute number of people tested for HIV dropped from 20,3987 in 2017 to 18,3654 in 2018. Conclusion The utilisation of health services by the population of the Southwest region was negatively affected by the armed conflict. The negative effects could have a significant impact on the population’s health and potentially, affect the set global health targets such as improved vaccination coverage in all districts. Local, national, regional and global authorities must work together to develop risk mitigating interventions in settings with armed conflicts to preserve the utilisation of health services.