Measuring and analyzing health inequalities in Cameroon

Eric Patrick Feubi Pamen, Laboratoire d'Analyses et de Recherche en Economie Mathématique (LAREM) et Université de Yaounde2
Joelle Nounouce Ngako, Université de Yaoundé I

The objective of this study is to measure and analyze health inequalities in Cameroon, in rural and urban area, and with regard to the gender of the household head. The analytical framework of this paper consists of a descriptive approach based on the generalized entropy method as formulated by Shannon (1940) and Brillouin (1956). To measuring health inequalities in Cameroon, we built up a Health Inequality Index (HII) closed to the Theil Index (1967), thanks to the generalize entropy method. We then use the Dagum (1977a, 1977b, 2012) decomposition to appreciate the within and between distribution of our HII among sub-groups of the entire Cameroonian population. In other words, we provide answers to question such as , are inequality coming from difference between two sub-groups or there are inequalities because of differences between households of a same sub-group.