Date: July 16, 2026
Time: 09:00am – 11:00am
Venue: COFE Hotel, Yaoundé

Background

Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) represent a growing public health and economic challenge in Cameroon, accounting for an estimated 38% of all deaths and exposing households to significant financial hardship. With out-of-pocket payments representing over 65% of total health expenditure, many Cameroonian households—particularly those affected by chronic conditions—face catastrophic health expenditures when seeking care. This burden is exacerbated by the long-term and predictable costs associated with chronic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, sickle cell disease, and cardiovascular conditions.

While private health insurance (PHI) has the potential to complement public health financing efforts and improve financial protection, coverage for chronic diseases remains largely excluded from PHI schemes in Cameroon. Insurers often perceive pre-existing and long-term conditions as financially risky, resulting in exclusions, waiting periods, or unaffordable premiums. These challenges are further compounded by health system weaknesses, including underdiagnosis, limited access to specialized care, and fragmented service delivery.

The World Health Organization’s PEN-Plus strategy offers a promising pathway to address these challenges. By standardizing and decentralizing the management of severe and chronic NCDs to first-level referral facilities, PEN-Plus improves continuity, predictability, and quality of care. Cameroon has made initial progress in adopting PEN-Plus into national policies and operational plans; however, implementation remains limited, and the strategy has yet to be fully leveraged as a foundation for financial protection mechanisms, including private health insurance.

Against this backdrop, the Health Policy and Research Division of the Nkafu Policy Institute developed the policy brief “The WHO PEN-Plus: A Framework to Promote Equitable Chronic Disease Coverage in Private Health Insurance.” This Operational Working Group (OWG) aims to build on the evidence presented in the brief to practically explore how PEN-Plus can be strategically linked with PHI reforms to enable equitable, sustainable, and inclusive coverage of chronic diseases in Cameroon.

Objectives

• To examine the findings and recommendations of the policy brief and assess their implications for chronic disease coverage under private health insurance in Cameroon.
• To assess the feasibility of aligning the WHO PEN-Plus framework with private health insurance design, financing, and regulatory mechanisms.
• To develop a structured and time-bound roadmap outlining priority actions, responsible stakeholders, and implementation pathways to promote equitable chronic disease coverage under private health insurance.

Expected Outputs

The expected outputs are:

• Refined and validated priority recommendations to leverage PEN-Plus for private health insurance schemes design.
• A shared understanding of the key policy and operational reforms required to expand chronic disease coverage.
• A clear implementation roadmap detailing short-, medium-, and long-term actions, lead institutions, and coordination mechanisms.

Target Participants

This OWG will gather government representatives from the Ministry of Public Health (NCD and health financing units); officials from the Ministry of Finance and insurance regulatory bodies; private health insurance providers and actuarial experts; clinicians and program managers involved in NCD care and PEN-Plus implementation; health economists and health systems researchers; civil society organizations and patient advocacy groups representing people living with chronic diseases; development partners and technical agencies supporting NCD and UHC initiatives.

Venue & Date

This OWG will take place on July 2, 2026, at COFE hotel (Yaoundé) from 12:00pm – 2:00pm.

About the Organizers

• About the Denis And Lenora Foretia Foundation

The Denis & Lenora Foretia Foundation was established to accelerate Africa’s economic transformation by focusing on social entrepreneurship, science and technology, innovation, public health and progressive policies that create economic opportunities for all. The foundation works in partnership with local governments, policy makers, private enterprises, civil society organizations as well as development partners to expand the resources available to entrepreneurs, farmers, and small business owners in addition to improving individual livelihoods.

• About the Nkafu Policy Institute

The Nkafu Policy Institute is an African think tank with a mission to provide independent, in-depth and insightful policy recommendations that allows all Africans to prosper in free, fair, democratic and sustainable economies. The Institute is made up of analysts, experts and researchers from all over the world, working on a wide range of topics, including governance and democracy, health and education, peace and security, science and technology, and economic policy.