CHAPTER ONE

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

1.0 Introduction

            Bafmeng is a small village in the Fungom Sub division of Menchum division in the North West Region of Cameroon. The Fungom people originated from the Tikari. Around the 15th century, they moved from the Western region and settled around Babadjou. Around the 17th century, they moved from Babajou and a section of the population went through Noni while another group came to Bafut. The group that moved to Bafut settled at a quarter known today as Buweh. They later moved to Weh and Esu. The group that moved to Noni settled at Njotin for some time and later on moved to where we call Bafmeng today. The villages of the council areas are divided into four zones for easy administration. The zones and constituent villages are presented as follows:

Upper Fungom zone: Zhoa, Mekaf, Kumfutu, Small Mekaf, Cha’a, Biya, Kung, Yemge and Weh

Lower Fungom zone: Fungom, Abar, Mundabili, Marshi, Koshin, Fang, Buu’, Misong, Mumfu, Ngun, Munken and Aju Mbu Esu zone Esu, Gayama I, Gayama II, Melang, Munkep, Isong and

 Munkar Bafmeng zone: Bafmeng (Mmen), Kuk, Nyos, Ise, Ipalim, Akang and Imo.

            The Menchum division of the North West Region of Cameroon, has about 12 health districts and their health areas are as follows: Furu-Awa, Abar, Bu, Bafmeng, Esu, Yemnge, St. Martin- Wum, Kumfutu, Weh, Wum Urban, and Ise. This health districts are mostly run and managed by non-native speakers of that community which poses a problem to healthcare. Effective communication is essential for quality healthcare. However, when patients and providers do not speak the same language, it can negatively impact health outcomes.

The Bafmeng community of Fungom Sub division, Menchum division, located in the Northwest Region of Cameroon, predominantly speaks the Bafmeng language. However, the official languages of Cameroon are English and French, which are the languages of healthcare. This language discordance poses a significant barrier to the Bafmeng people accessing equitable and comprehensive medical care. Pius W. Akumbu, Pierpaolo Di Carlo’s article titled ‘Multilingualism: The language of health in Cameroon  state that “As a country that favours the rule of law and protection of human rights, the institutions should seek to provide health related information to its fellow citizens in the language that each citizen understands best”.

1.1 Background to the study

            The name Mmen comes from the verb sé mwɛ̀yn [sémɣɛ̀yn] ‘to open up thick bush-covered land’ and is used by the speakers referring to both their language and their land. As a Centre Ring language of Narrow Grassfields, a subdivision of Wide Grassfields within the Southern Bantoid languages, Mmen is part of a cluster including six other languages that is, Babanki, Bum, Kom, Kuk, Kung and Oku (Lewis 2009). Mmen – Bafmeng Native to Cameroon Native speakers 35,000 (2001) language family. Bafumen is the name of the village where the largest number of speakers is found that is, 30 000 (Troyer, et al. 1995: P.8) and the name adopted by German colonizers for the area and formerly used for the language. Other villages where Mmen is spoken are Cha’, Yemgeh, Nyos, Ipalim among others.

            The Bafmeng community resides primarily in the Northwest Region of Cameroon, with a population of over 150,000 individuals according to the latest census data. Bafmeng is the primary language spoken within the community and is part of the larger Grassfields Bantu family of languages. However, English and French are the official languages used in healthcare settings across Cameroon as a legacy of colonial rule.

            Previous ethnographic studies have documented that Bafmeng speakers face difficulties navigating the formal healthcare system due to language barriers. A lack of Bafmeng interpreters and translated materials challenges patient understanding of medical issues. This negatively impacts treatment adherence and management of chronic diseases that place a high burden on the community such as Human Immune Deficiency Virus/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS), diabetes and hypertension.

            Community health workers have reported Bafmeng patients frequently rely on family members for interpretation during clinical visits due to limited availability of trained interpreters. However, this informal approach risks incomplete or inaccurate transmission of medical information. A needs assessment by the Ministry of Public Health also found healthcare providers receive inadequate training to work with interpreters or serve linguistically diverse populations.

            While some Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) initiatives have piloted use of Bafmeng community health promoters and telehealth kiosks, a coordinated policy approach is still needed. Existing literature emphasizes the importance of addressing social determinants like language to achieve health equity. More evidence is required to understand this issue’s full scope and develop culturally-appropriate, sustainable solutions for the Bafmeng population and others in similar contexts. This proposed study aims to fill those gaps through a mixed-methods community-based participatory approach.

1.2 Problem Statement

            The Bafmeng community in Northwest Cameroon faces significant barriers to accessing quality healthcare due to linguistic differences between patients and healthcare providers. This study investigates the impact of language discordance on healthcare outcomes for the Bafmeng people. Language barriers lead to misdiagnoses, non-adherence to treatment plans, and general dissatisfaction with care. The absent of trained community interpreters and developing bilingual healthcare materials to bridge this language divide and improve health equity for the Bafmeng people reduces health advantages and sometimes increases death rate.

1.3 Research Questions

            This long essay seeks to examine Language as a problem to health care to the Bafmeng community. Based on the problem above, the following questions serves as guides to this study.

1. How does the language barrier between healthcare providers and Bafmeng patients impact communication and understanding during medical consultations and treatment?
2. In what ways does poor or lack of communication due to linguistic differences influence patients’ health-seeking behaviours, management of illnesses, and treatment outcomes?
3. What policies and programs have been implemented by health authorities to address language barriers and improve healthcare access, experience and quality for the Bafmeng community

1.4 Research Hypothesis

            A research hypothesis is a statement of expectation or prediction that will be tested by research. It is an idea or explanation for something that is based on known facts but has not yet been proved. This study is based on the following hypothesis:

1. Language barriers between healthcare providers and Bafmeng patients negatively impact clinical communication and understanding during medical consultation and treatment.
2. Poor or lack of communication due to linguistic differences influence patients’ health- seeking behaviours, management of illnesses, and treatment outcomes
3. Good policies and programs should be implemented by health authorities to address language barriers and improve healthcare access, experience and quality for Bafmeng community.

1.5 Research  Aims/ Objective of the study

            This is a sentence that summarizes the purpose of your study or test. It is an idea that a researcher wants to understand deeper by performing research and it act as a driven force behind every task that a researcher assign. This study is based on the following objectives:

1. To show how language barrier between healthcare providers and Bafmeng patients impact communication and understanding during medical consultations and treatment
2. To illustrate the ways in which poor or lack of communication due to linguistic differences influence patients’ health-seeking behaviors, management of illnesses, and treatment outcomes.
3. To examine good policies and programs that can be implemented by health authorities to address language barriers and improve healthcare access, experience and quality for the Bafmeng community.