Climate change, youth migration, and health vulnerabilities in the Cameroonian basin of Lake Chad: a One Health perspective

The Lake Chad Basin is experiencing a major hydrological decline that is redefining the survival strategies of its youth. This migratory phenomenon, widely documented from a socio-economic perspective, remains insufficiently analyzed from a health perspective and at the human-animal-environment interface. A mixed-methods survey, dominated by a quantitative approach, was conducted in 2021 with 300 young people aged 15 to 35 years distributed across 11 localities in the Cameroonian part of the basin, selected by stratified proportional random sampling (fishermen, herders, farmers). Data were processed using Stata (descriptive statistics, chi-square test of independence, logistic regression). Overall, 73% of respondents are directly affected by migration; only 44% report a satisfactory level of proximity to health centers. Movement tracking data from the International Organization for Migration, including the Displacement Tracking Matrix, indicate an overrepresentation of individuals with health vulnerabilities (people living with chronic illnesses, people with disabilities, the elderly, and unaccompanied children) among the region’s mobile populations. The literature also cites a higher prevalence of infectious diseases among migrant populations compared to sedentary populations. These results suggest a One Health approach to climate migration in Lake Chad, where human health, animal health (mobile livestock farming, fisheries resources), and environmental degradation (lake desiccation, water stress) are interdependent. Public health policies in the basin must integrate youth mobility as a key determinant of health vulnerability and adopt a cross-sectoral One Health approach linked to climate adaptation strategies.