SmartMobileClinic – Expanding telehealth services in rural communities in Cameroon
In July 2025 Cameroon’s Ministry of Public Health launched the Universal Healthcare Policy in 2023 to address the limited access to healthcare, particularly pressing in rural areas, by reinforcing a decentralised approach. Neveretheless, operational and technical capacity remain limited, particularly at the peripheral level in rural areas. Moreover, data collection and sharing between actors is inconsistent, thereby limiting the evidence base on which the MoH makes strategic decisions.
The SmartMobileClinic (SMC), is an initiative launched in 2022 by Mapubi e.V. in collaboration with the Health and Research Organisation Cameroon (HERO), to improve access to quality healthcare in rural Cameroon, as well as corresponding data collection and sharing for policy and research purposes. SMC allows healthcare workers in rural settings to create and track digital healthcare records, which can later inform national health policy and resource planning.
During this project, SMC will be expanded as a service to address the healthcare needs of further rural communities by creating new partnerships and training healthcare workers and community multipliers in the target regions, whilst simultaneously enhancing the core services of the platform with a view to supporting evidence-based healthcare policy making at local and national level.
In partnership with
A1.1 is an onsite training of trainers (ToT) in Yaoundé, to train healthcare workers and community leaders from 12 target communities in how to use the SMC app during healthcare campaigns and within rural healthcare centres, as well as skills development on healthcare provision and medical procedures. The initial one-day workshop is complemented by virtual follow-up training. The ToT is for approximately 30 participants, tentatively to comprise 12 healthcare workers , 12 community leaders and six participants from Yaoundé. These trainers will, in turn, educate nurses, community helpers, and rural doctors on using the app, thereby acting as multipliers as part of implementing A1.2 healthcare campaigns.
Under A1.2 Mapubi e.V. and HERO will work with local communities to prepare and deliver 12 “healthcare campaigns” in rural areas. Each campaign is run with local healthcare facilities over the course of 1-2 days, with the aim of providing on-the-job training to rural healthcare workers and community helpers on how to use the SMC to facilitate their work and on best practice in rural healthcare, while providing free healthcare services for rural communities. The trainers participating in 1.1 act as the focal point in the relevant community, cascading their newly acquired knowledge and skills to colleagues and fellow members of the community to maximise uptake of the healthcare campaign from both the healthcare workers and patients.
A2 sees the local developers of SMC platform refine and improve the user experience and service offered by integrating advanced artificial intelligence, as well as to enhance the learning functions of the app by incorporating training videos. These improvements will provide improved diagnostic support and predictive analytics and empower healthcare workers to manage cases more efficiently and independently. To ensure these digital enhancements can be effectively used in low-resource, rural settings, basic infrastructure support (e.g., mobile phone, solar charger, mobile internet router, blood pressure and blood sugar tools) will also be provided.
The monthly online project retrospective calls aim to review the progress, challenges, and outcomes of the SMC and allow project partners and stakeholders to identify opportunities for improvements within the SMC and its associated activities. These sessions facilitate continuous improvement by engaging stakeholders in discussions that enhance the efficiency of processes and technology integration. The online calls are open to the HERO team, rural healthcare workers trained in 1.1 and 1.2, Mapubi Labs and call centre team, medical students and researchers, as well as the regional healthcare delegates and Ministry of Health.
A3.4 is the organisation of the second edition of the Africa Health Day conference, following the first edition in October 2023. The conference serves as an opportunity to celebrate project achievements, share lessons learned, and foster networking opportunities among stakeholders to promote universal healthcare in Cameroon and raise awareness of SMC’s impact. It is also the flagship conference to disseminate results of the SmartMobileClinic’s healthcare campaigns for the benefit of healthcare workers and policymakers.