Health Record Rights Index · country brief · this country's data as of October 1, 2026
Who holds the health record in Cameroon?
In 2026, Cameroon scores 31 out of 100 for how much say a person has over their own health record. It is tied for 159th of 198 countries and territories, and could rank anywhere from 118th to 175th allowing for scoring error, in the Weak band (25 to 44). Who holds the keys: doctors, hospitals and insurers. Source: Health Record Rights Index, SuperTruth, this country's data as of October 1, 2026.
Doctors, hospitals and insurers decide. Its strongest right, compared with the typical country, is your say over research use (50 out of 100, against 46 for the typical country). The furthest behind is one record across your care (25 out of 100, against 38 for the typical country).
A data law took full effect in June 2026, but no regulator had been set up by August 2026 and records stay inside each facility.
Published · updated · this country's data as of October 1, 2026 · research tool, not legal advice
overall score · Weak band, 25 to 44
31/100
rank among 198 countries and territories; likely 118th to 175th, allowing for scoring error
In 2026, getting your full record scores 30 out of 100 in Cameroon; the typical country scores 40 to 45. Law 2024/017 gives a right to a copy, but at the cost of reproduction, with deadlines left to a regulation and no regulator to enforce it. There is no patient portal, and the electronic record runs in about 50 pilot facilities. Source: Présidence de la République, December 23, 2024, and the other sources below.
Who controls health records in Cameroon?
In 2026, doctors, hospitals and insurers hold the keys to your health record in Cameroon. Control over who sees it scores 28 out of 100 in Cameroon; the typical country scores 30. The law requires prior, specific consent and lets people object, but a health-protection exception applies and patients have no tools to set sharing rules or see who opened their file. Source: Présidence de la République, December 23, 2024, and the other sources below.
How does Cameroon compare?
In 2026, Cameroon scores 31 out of 100, against 39 for the typical country. This brief compares it with Comoros (32 out of 100), Equatorial Guinea (32 out of 100) and Sao Tome and Principe (32 out of 100). Source: the ranking of all 198 countries and territories.
Eight rights, compared with Comoros, Equatorial Guinea, Sao Tome and Principe and the typical country
Scores out of 100, by right
Getting your full record20%
30
35 · 40 · 35
Control over who sees it20%
28
28 · 28 · 28
Privacy and security15%
40
45 · 45 · 45
One record across your care15%
25
25 · 18 · 22
Protection from sale and ads10%
42
40 · 40 · 43
Doctors see it when treating you10%
22
15 · 15 · 17
Your say over research use5%
50
49 · 49 · 45
Rules for AI in your care5%
22
20 · 18 · 18
Black dot: Cameroon. Hollow dots: Comoros, Equatorial Guinea, Sao Tome and Principe (scores out of 100 on the right, same order). Gray line: the typical country of all 198. Overall: Cameroon 31 out of 100. Scores move in steps of about 5 points, so read a rank with its likely range.
What would Cameroon need to change to score higher?
Cameroon sits in Weak (25 to 44); Mixed starts at 45. Its two weakest rights, compared with the typical country and weighted by how much each counts, are getting your full record (30 out of 100, against 40 to 45 for the typical country) and one record across your care (25 out of 100, against 38 for the typical country). Our scoring rules give more points for:
Getting your full record: A national portal that shows most people at least part of their record (a summary, prescriptions, lab results) puts this right at 60 to 75 out of 100. A near-full record that you can download, with a long history and used by most people, puts it at 76 to 90.
One record across your care: Family doctors, hospitals, labs, pharmacies, insurers and public health all linked to one record that is used across the country.
Which laws give health record rights in Cameroon?
Law No. 2024/017 on personal data protection: Consent, access and objection rights, health as sensitive data, breach notice, transfer authorisation, regulator by future decree.
Law No. 2022/008 on medical research involving humans: Written informed consent for research and reuse of health data, ethics clearance, conditions on export.
Law No. 2010/012 on cybersecurity and cybercrime: Security framework for networks and information systems; defines ICT offences; protects privacy.
Doctors, waits and private care context, not part of the score
Doctors per 10,000
0.9 2024
Nurses and midwives per 10,000
6.6 2022
Private insurance + out-of-pocket
70.4% 2023
Record reaches private care?
unknown
Real cases
July 5, 2026 · Cameroon News Agency Fire at a public hospital destroyed its medical records unit
In 2026, Cameroon scored 31 out of 100 for how much say a person has over their own health record, tied for 159th of 198 countries and territories (could be 118th to 175th), in the Weak band. Who holds the keys: doctors, hospitals and insurers. Source: Health Record Rights Index, SuperTruth, this country's data as of October 1, 2026, https://healthrecordrights.com/brief/cameroon/
The 12 sources for Cameroon
Each source appears once, under the first right it supports. Titles are shown as our research agents recorded them, usually in the page's own language; text in square brackets is our machine translation. Links were checked on the date shown.
Getting your full record (3 sources)
“Loi n° 2024/017 du 23 décembre 2024 relative à la protection des données à caractère personnel au Cameroun” [Law No. 2024/017 of 23 December 2024 on the protection of personal data in Cameroon] our machine translation
Présidence de la République [Presidency of the Republic] (law or regulation) · Title in French
Dated December 23, 2024 · Link checked October 2, 2026 (opened)
Used for: Getting your full record; Control over who sees it; Privacy and security; Protection from sale and ads; Doctors see it when treating you; Your say over research use; Rules for AI in your care
“RGPH-4 prolongé jusqu'au 15 septembre: sous quel régime les données collectées sont-elles protégées?” [RGPH-4 extended until 15 September: under what regime are the collected data protected?] our machine translation
Observatoire de Cybersécurité du Cameroun [Cameroon Cybersecurity Observatory] (other) · Title in French
Dated August 12, 2026 · Link checked October 2, 2026 (opened)
Used for: Getting your full record; Control over who sees it; Privacy and security
“Santé numérique: le Cameroun avance vers la Couverture Santé Universelle grâce à la digitalisation” [Digital health: Cameroon advances towards Universal Health Coverage through digitalisation] our machine translation
MINSANTE (government guidance) · Title in French
Dated August 21, 2025 · Link checked October 2, 2026 (opened)
“Cameroun: Le projet du carnet électronique du patient en couveuse” [Cameroon: The electronic patient record project in incubation] our machine translation
Digital Business Africa (news) · Title in French
Dated February 23, 2026 · Link checked October 2, 2026 (opened)
Used for: One record across your care; Doctors see it when treating you
“Décret n° 83-166 du 12 avril 1983 portant code de déontologie des médecins” [Decree No. 83-166 of 12 April 1983 establishing the code of medical ethics for physicians] our machine translation
Camerlex copy (law or regulation) · Title in French
Dated April 12, 1983 · Link checked October 2, 2026 (opened)
“La loi sur la protection des données personnelles entre officiellement en vigueur” [The personal data protection law officially enters into force] our machine translation
Direction Générale du Budget, MINFI [Directorate General of the Budget, Ministry of Finance (MINFI)] (government guidance) · Title in French
Dated July 6, 2026 · Link checked October 2, 2026 (opened)
“Loi n° 2022/008 du 27 avril 2022 relative à la recherche médicale impliquant la personne humaine au Cameroun” [Law No. 2022/008 of 27 April 2022 on medical research involving human subjects in Cameroon] our machine translation
Présidence de la République [Presidency of the Republic] (law or regulation) · Title in French
Dated April 27, 2022 · Link checked October 2, 2026 (opened)
“Régulation pharmaceutique: l'Agence Camerounaise du Médicament (ACM) en gestation” [Pharmaceutical regulation: the Cameroonian Medicines Agency (ACM) in the making] our machine translation
MINSANTE (government guidance) · Title in French
Dated March 13, 2025 · Link checked October 2, 2026 (opened)
“Intelligence artificielle au Cameroun: état des lieux et suivi” [Artificial intelligence in Cameroon: current situation and monitoring] our machine translation
Observatoire de Cybersécurité du Cameroun [Cameroon Cybersecurity Observatory] (other) · Title in French
Dated August 13, 2026 · Link checked October 2, 2026 (opened)
SuperTruth Inc. · 24 S. 24th St., Philadelphia, PA 19103, USA · +1 215 918 4140 · supertruth.ai Something wrong? Tell us · Questions or a briefing: supertruth.ai/on-the-record#contact · Full index: healthrecordrights.com
OECD: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (38 mostly high-income countries). DTI™: the Data Trust Index, which grades the evidence behind each score. SuperTruth makes it and publishes this index. Everything here comes from public information: laws, government and regulator pages, court decisions, published news, WHO, OECD and World Bank data. Full sources: https://healthrecordrights.com/brief/cameroon/#sources. SuperTruth built this index and sells health data verification products; no one paid to be included. Research tool, not legal advice. Our scores and our own words are CC BY 4.0; quoted law and source titles stay with their owners.
