Uchunguzi (Journal Watch/ Montre de Journal

The purpose of an effective emergency care system is to provide universal emergency care to all regardless of socioeconomic status, to stabilise patients who have a life-threatening illness or injury, and to reduce consequences of preventable mortality, morbidity and disability. Unfortunately, the limited availability of resources remains a significant barrier to the development and implementa- tion of emergency care systems in low- and middle-income coun- tries (LMICs). In this recent study from Cameroon, of 3201 participants from 619 households surveyed, 1113 (34.8%) had experienced one or more emergency conditions in the previous year. Despite this high incidence of emergency conditions, only 7% had accessed emergency centres; the primary reasons for not seeking healthcare being economic issues (37.2%) and use of com- plementary medicine (22.2%). Increased usage of emergency care systems and better public health may be achieved in LMICs by improving access to emergency care systems, affordability, reason- able payment systems for emergency care, and training highly skilled personnel with enhanced life-saving capability.