Cameroon Health Ministry Connects Health Systems via CAMTEL

In Short

Cameroon’s Ministry of Public Health says it is accelerating the interconnection of its health information systems.

What Happened

Cameroon’s Ministry of Public Health said digital health stakeholders met in Kribi from 27 to 31 October 2026 to work on the country’s national interoperability platform.

Interoperability means different computer systems can exchange data and use it correctly. In healthcare, the ministry said this should allow information to be entered once and reused by authorised systems, helping reduce duplicate data entry and making work easier for health professionals.

The ministry said multiple interoperability projects are underway. These include work between BUNEC and the health sector for birth declarations, links between electronic medical records and DHIS2, and efforts connected to universal health coverage.

To coordinate these projects, the ministry said a shared infrastructure has been put in place. A dedicated server, acquired through funding focused on interoperability across several countries, has been installed at CAMTEL. The ministry added that data exchange tools, including OpenHIM and OpenFn, have also been deployed on that infrastructure.

The ministry said the platform already hosts use cases. One example is universal health coverage, where enrolment and billing systems have been connected.

The Kribi workshop also covered the gradual convergence of other projects onto the shared infrastructure. The ministry noted that not all systems are connected yet and that reliable data exchange requires common rules. Teams worked on interoperability principles, technical tools, and international standards, including HL7 FHIR.

The ministry said participants updated the mapping of existing systems and pre validated a revised interoperability framework aligned with the National Digital Health Strategic Plan 2026 to 2030. Systems mentioned include universal health coverage systems, SIGEC, electronic medical records such as Bahmni, DHIS2, the HIV registry, and reference data for health facilities.

The ministry also said it is finalising an accreditation process for health software. The process is meant to verify technical and functional compliance with selected standards and confirm a software’s ability to communicate with other systems before it is integrated.

Why It Matters

Cameroon’s Ministry of Public Health says connecting these systems should help authorised professionals access needed information, reduce duplicate data entry, and improve the availability of reliable data for monitoring and public decision making.