Signing of a new Memorandum of Understanding between the United States and the Republic of Cameroon to advance the health and well-being within the two countries and globally.
December 16, 2025
Your Excellency, the Prime Minister;
Honorable Minister of Public Health;
Honorable Minister of Finance;
Honorable Minister of Economy;
Honorable Minister of External Relations;
Honorable Minister of Defense;
Representatives of International Organizations and Implementing Partners;
Distinguished guests, colleagues, and friends:
It is a great honor to join you today for this important occasion, marking the signing of a new Memorandum of Understanding between the United States and the Republic of Cameroon. This MOU is a testament to the enduring partnership and shared commitment between our two nations to advance the health and well-being within our countries and globally.
Ambassador Lamora speaks on a podium delivering remarks during the signing the MOU flanked by the U.S. flag on his right and the Cameroon flag on his left.
Strategic Importance of Cameroon
Cameroon is strategically important: what happens here, in pretty much any sector, has direct effects on the entire Central Africa region, and often beyond. From counterterrorism to maritime security, and from stemming illegal and dangerous migration to controlling disease outbreaks before they can spread, Cameroon and its leaders are vital partners with whom the United States has long had a fruitful collaboration rooted in mutual respect and a shared vision for a healthier, more secure future.
Ambassador Lamora signing the MOU with Cameroon’s Minister of Public Health, Manaouda Malachie
Successful Health Partnership
Over the years, our partnership has yielded significant achievements across many domains, including cultural, education, economic, humanitarian, and global health
initiatives. In global health, which brings us here today, over the past two decades, the U.S. Government has invested over 640 billion FCFA ($1.1 billion) to strengthen the health system. This investment has profoundly impacted the health of the Cameroonian people and saved countless lives.
Through the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR, we have worked hand-inhand to save lives, prevent new HIV infections, and support both civilians and military personnel living with HIV. Together, we have made remarkable progress toward epidemic control, expanding clinical services to all 10 regions of Cameroon and providing treatment to over 400,000 people living with HIV/AIDS.
Our joint efforts in malaria prevention and treatment have also delivered tangible results. Through the President’s Malaria Initiative, we have supported the distribution of bed nets, improved diagnostics, and expanded access to life-saving treatments. Together, we have protected over two million children in the Far North and North regions, and we have decreased child mortality by 35 percent.
Beyond these programs, the United States has made critical investments in global health security. We built an Emergency Operations Center; strengthened Cameroon’s capacity to detect, prevent, and respond to infectious disease threats; and trained over 2,000 field epidemiologists, also known as “disease detectives.” We continue to support disease surveillance, laboratories, and other critical health system infrastructure that keep both Cameroonians and Americans healthy.
Ambassador Lamora Shakes hands with Cameroon’s Minister of Public Health, Manaouda Malachie after signing the MOU
Significance of the MOU and the America First Global Health Strategy
Today’s MOU builds on this strong foundation. It reflects our shared commitment to deepening cooperation, aligning our efforts even more closely than before, and ensuring that our investments deliver sustainable impact.
Under the America First Global Health Strategy, the United States is committed to working with partners like Cameroon to strengthen health systems and protect communities from current and future health threats to the benefit of both our countries.
With this MOU, the U.S. Government will invest, over the next five years, an additional$400 million, or about 240 billion FCFA to support the health workforce, strengthen outbreak surveillance, improve supply chains, expand data systems, and enhance laboratory capacity. In parallel, the government of Cameroon has committed to increasing its health spending over the same period by $450 million about 270 billion FCFA. This is a strong testament to the enduring partnership between our two countries.
This agreement will enable us to coordinate more closely, leverage resources more effectively, and foster innovation. It will also strengthen the bonds of trust and friendship that unite our countries.
Group photo of Ambassador Lamora, Prime Minister Joseph Dion Ngute and Cameroon’s Minister of Public Health, Manaouda Malachie after signing the MOU
Acknowledgments and Thanks
I wish to express my sincere appreciation to His Excellency, the Prime Minister, for your leadership and vision. I thank the Minister of Public Health for your tireless dedication to improving health outcomes for all Cameroonians. My gratitude also goes to the Minister of Finance, the Minister of Economy, and the Minister of External Relations for your steadfast support and partnership, and that of your teams.
I also wish to thank our U.S. delegation, led by Dr. Rebecca Bunnell, and the entire U.S. Government team – here and back home in the United States – for your commitment to advancing our shared goals.
Conclusion
As we sign this MOU, let us reaffirm our commitment to working together in pursuit of a healthier, safer, and more prosperous future for the people of Cameroon and the United States. Thank you.
Press Release
December 18, 2025
With the recent release of the America First Global Health Strategy (AFGHS), the United States set out a forward-looking vision for U.S. engagement in global health that is built around three pillars: protecting Americans by preventing and containing infectious disease outbreaks, strengthening bilateral relationships to save lives and foster economic growth, and promoting American innovation for a more prosperous future.
The AFGHS prioritizes American interests by safeguarding the nation from infectious disease outbreaks, while also saving millions of lives worldwide and supporting countries like Cameroon in building resilient health systems through multi-year bilateral MOUs. Over the past 25 years, U.S. global health programs have prevented thousands of infectious disease outbreaks, saved over 26 million lives through the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), and prevented 7.8 million babies from being born with HIV/AIDS. The AFGHS also emphasizes the need to address inefficiencies and reduce dependency by ensuring that more health assistance directly supports frontline supplies and health care workers, rather than overhead and technical assistance.
A New Chapter: The U.S.-Cameroon Five-Year Memorandum of Understanding
In alignment with the AFGHS, the United States and the Government of Cameroon signed a historic five-year Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to advance durable and resilient health systems in Cameroon. The U.S. government through the Department of State is working with Congress and plans to provide up to nearly $400 million through this five-year MOU. The government of Cameroon has committed to increasing its health spending by $450 million, making Cameroon one of the first countries globally to pledge more than what the Department of State plans to invest under the AFGHS. The five-year MOU marks a new era of partnership, with clear goals and action plans designed to benefit both nations and ensures that U.S. health assistance strategically advances shared interests, saves lives, and supports economic growth in both countries.
Key areas of cooperation include:
Frontline Commodities & Health care Workers: The U.S. plans to fully fund health commodities and frontline health care workers in Cameroon for 2026 and 2027, ensuring reliable access to essential medicines, diagnostics, and a robust health workforce. Over the five years, the U.S. plans to invest more than $49 million in health commodities and $95 million in payroll for more than 5,000 full-time health care workers, while supporting Cameroon’s plan to integrate these workers into its permanent workforce over time.
Data Systems: The five-year MOU supports the creation of a unified, secure, and interoperable digital health ecosystem in Cameroon, including the nationwide rollout of tools to digitize patient-level data and improve decision-making. The U.S. will invest over $52 million in data systems over this MOU’s five years.
Surveillance and Outbreak Preparedness: More than $33 million will be provided to enhance Cameroon’s national surveillance and outbreak preparedness, enabling rapid detection, notification, and response to infectious disease threats with epidemic or pandemic potential.
Laboratory Systems: The U.S. will provide up to $23 million to support the development of a network of national reference and regional laboratories, improving pathogen identification, real-time surveillance, and laboratory workforce training.
Strategic Investment: More than $73 million will be provided to strengthen Cameroon’s health system, enabling independent implementation and oversight of global health programs by the end of the five-year MOU, with ongoing U.S. support focused on surveillance, outbreak response, and new health interventions.
The five-year MOU requires Cameroon to co-invest in these efforts and meet performance benchmarks, ensuring shared responsibility and sustainability. This approach is designed to move Cameroon toward greater self-reliance and ownership of its health programs.
A Positive Impact for Cameroon’s Health and Prosperity
The impact of this five-year MOU will be profound. U.S. foreign assistance has already helped Cameroon reduce child mortality by 34% in the North and Far North regions, triple the proportion of children-under-five sleeping under bed nets, build an Emergency Operations Center, train nearly 2,000 field epidemiologists, and expand free HIV clinical services to all 10 regions. The new five-year MOU will build on these achievements, supporting Cameroon’s efforts to prevent, detect, and respond to health threats such as cholera, malaria, yellow fever, influenza, measles, polio, and other epidemicprone diseases. The five-year MOU plans to help Cameroon develop a durable, self-reliant health system that maintains the health of its population and supports economic growth.
By strengthening surveillance, laboratory capacity, supply chains, and the health workforce, this U.S.Cameroon partnership plans to protect Cameroonians and contribute to shared global health security goals—keeping Americans safer and supporting prosperity on both sides of the Atlantic. As the fiveyear MOU is implemented, both countries will work together to ensure that the benefits of the AFGHS and this MOU are felt and meet our shared and jointly agreed upon five-year global health goals.
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