Health

President Paul Biya on November 4, 2015, signed a decree declaring the St Elizabeth Cardiac Centre of the Shisong Catholic Hospital in Bui Division of the North West Region a public utility. According to Dr Emmanuel Maina Djoulde, Head of Division for Cooperation in the Ministry of Public Health, the decree means the centre can now benefit from a number of privileges. 

“Declaring an entity a public utility is a legal provision in Cameroon. This applies to private structures that offer public services recognised for their great impact on the people, which the State acknowledges or recognises,” explained Dr Djoulde. He observed that the structure offers services that should normally be provided by the State. “This status confers certain privileges on the structure and includes fast-track treatment of its files and exonerations in areas like imports, taxes and in general dealings with the State as a whole; which is not the case with other private structures,” stressed Dr Djoulde.

The centre can now formally receive State support – which it has already been enjoying on a case-by-case basis. “The new status also gives more credibility to the Shisong Cardiac Centre and facilitates its dealings with international partners. In addition, the centre can negotiate and receive State staff on secondment as well as negotiate other special deals. However, this is not automatic. Special deals have to be negotiated on a case by case basis,” the Head of Division for Cooperation pointed out. “The decree of the Head of State confers on the Shisong Cardiac Centre the status of a privileged partner of the State.

Before now, the centre was already receiving State assistance in terms of subventions and exonerations on an ad hoc basis. Thus, this recognition has only come to make formal what was already going on. This is a very important decision for the owners of the centre. When it was inaugurated, the Head of State sent a representative. The State has in the past donated a vehicle to the centre as well as offered funds to help construct and equip it,” concluded Dr Emmanuel Maina Djoulde. Managed by the Tertiary Sisters, construction of the St Elizabeth Shisong Cardiac Centre began in 2001 and took eight years to complete. President Paul Biya declared it a reference centre during its inauguration on November 19, 2009. Today, the centre offers Cardiac Surgery and ASD Closure, Diagnostic and Interventional Catheterisation, Coronary Angiography, Diagnostic Coronarography, Pace Maker double and single chamber.

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Ngwa Bertrand

10.Nov.2015

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The Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone where British nurse Pauline Cafferkey caught the disease is expected to be declared over as a crucial milestone is reached. It is due to be confirmed that 42 days has elapsed since the last new case of the deadly virus - the period of time that must pass for a country to be deemed Ebola-free. Ms Cafferkey contracted the disease after treating patients in Sierra Leone at the height of the outbreak. Following her initial recovery, she is being treated in hospital after falling ill again with meningitis, caused by a re-emergence of the virus. Sierra Leone being declared free of the disease will be a huge relief according to Dr Tumba Junior, a doctor with the charity GOAL based at its treatment centre in Port Loko. "Everyone is celebrating but we have to keep in mind that we must be careful," he said. "We could still have positive cases after this period."

It is 18 months since the outbreak began in West Africa, killing more than 11,000 of the 28,500 people known to have been infected. It claimed nearly 4,000 lives in Sierra Leone. The fear of Ebola has left communities living under a cloud of anxiety and mistrust, unsure where the virus would strike next. Liberia was declared free of Ebola in September but Guinea is still seeing some new cases. On the border with Sierra Leone, no chances are being taken and health checks at the crossing in Kambia are mandatory. Otim Patrick, field co-ordinator for the World Health Organisation at the site, said it is crucial not to "let your guard down". "You can have a case and it takes you back to zero," he said. "For a district like Kambia, which is at the border with Guinea, and with Guinea still having active transmission... they just had a case reported a day ago. "It's important that we maintain the level of vigilance so that complacency does not take us back to square one." At its worst hundreds of new cases were reported every week across West Africa.

Those caring for the sick left no part of their body uncovered if given the chance but too often the vital protection was not available. The outbreak has fuelled medical advances that have seen new vaccines and drugs being developed. But for many of the 17,000 survivors there are health complications to deal with. Head nurse Isatu Mansaray at the Port Loko centre said: "So many of them complain of deafness. "So many of them complain of joint pains... so much being stigmatised by the community so we really need psycho-social therapies. "So many have lost many members of their family, like 10 or 15 members of the family." For the next 90 days, Sierra Leone will be under a heightened state of surveillance to make sure the virus is gone for good. Its people have survived civil war in the country and now Ebola too. If there is a next time, Sierra Leone will be far better prepared. Its people are just hoping it never comes to that. .. . .

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Ngwa Bertrand

07.Nov.2015

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Statistics made public by the Ministry of Public Health states that 1, 869 Cameroonians sufferred from snake bites with 32 deaths recorded in 2015. The revelation was made on Wednesday the 4th of November 2015, by the Cameroon Society of Epidemiology at the opening of an International Seminar on managing snake bites. 

The study also noted that out of the 1,869 cases, 739 came from the three Northern Regions of Cameroon, with 23 out of 32 deaths. The study which was carried out by the Cameroon Society of Epidemiology, is a one year research plan ending December 2014. The Minister of Public Health, André Mama Fouda reportedly hailed the efforts made by Epidemiologists for including traditional healers in the fight against snake bites.

Minister Mama Fouda said for many years, traditional healers handled serious cases of snake bites. It is vital to include in this report that 32 out of the 150 snake species in Cameroon are poisonous.

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Ngwa Bertrand

06.Nov.2015

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Menstrual hygiene is an important aspect of the sexuality of women; yet, its management remains a taboo in several countries in the world. Access to information is limited and knowledge, attitudes, practices and behaviours in this domain are either unknown or undocumented. It is in this light that a one-day workshop to present the results of study on menstrual hygiene in the South and West Regions of Cameroon, held in Yaounde on November 3, 2015. Speaking at the opening, the Representative of UN Women Cameroon, Adama Moussa, called on participants to make use of the findings for their advocacy purposes. 

The study was entitled, “Menstrual Management: Behaviour and Practices in Kye-Ossi and Bamoungoum, Cameroon.” The key findings show that there is a low level of knowledge on menstrual hygiene management for both those in school and out of school. Similarly, school facilities used by women are poorly maintained and are sparsely used by girls, even during menstruation. The general absence of menstrual pad disposal solutions has a negative impact on the livelihoods of women, the report notes.

The study was conducted in 2014 in Kye-Ossi the South and Bamoungoum in the West Regions; two localities with very different socio-cultural profiles. It looked at menstrual hygiene management-related practices and behaviour and analysed infrastructure and public policies concerning water and sanitation. It also checked the availability and relevance of information on menstrual hygiene management and evaluated the impact on hygiene practices, people’s living conditions, heath education and the employment of women and girls.

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Ngwa Bertrand

04.Nov.2015

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The CPDM government has decided that the new vaccine, Chad3-Ebo-Z that is supposed to give immunity against Ebola should be tested on 400 Cameroonians. The minister of Public Health, Andre Mama Fouda revealed that Cameroon is now listed among the five selected countries for phase II clinical trials. 

The new vaccine trial operation enjoys the approval of the National Ethics Committee and the Operational Research Division of the Ministry of Public Health of Cameroon hinted Minister Fouda. In case of unexpected serious adverse reactions, the CPDM government has reassured Cameroonians that, an insurance policy has been gotten to support or compensate candidates. According to statistics from the World Health Organization (WHO), the Ebola epidemic has killed 2097 in West Africa.

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Ngwa Bertrand

31.Oct.2015

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Laboratory technicians have been introduced to the use and operation of new diagnostic equipment. During a scientific symposium that convened technicians from across Africa in Douala on October 23, experts in the sector operating under the umbrella of Sysmex/Partec in Europe revealed the advantages of the new malaria and HIV/AIDS diagnostic equipment: “With advanced technology we have the accuracy of information improved, provide more reliability, trustworthy and reproducibility; they are cost-effective but robost in that they are strong and powerful to be used where power supply is not stable, and the company provides after-sales support through training.

Participants came from Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, South Africa, Cameroon, and Germany. Africa is becoming our centre of focus and we are bringing high-tech equipment to Africa,” says Jorsten Reinecke of Sysmex Germany. He said the equipment and their accessories are on display in Douala by its local representative Santec. While addressing reporters in Akwa earlier on, Prof. Léopold Lehman, President of the Douala-based Santec - a local fusion of Sysmex (Japanese company specialised in the manufacture of diagnostic equipment) and Partec - said its main mission in Africa is to seek the advancement of health care: “We are here to hold this symposium to ensure that professionals in the medical laboratory have the best possible information for patient management.” Ghanaian-born Eric Osei Asante observed that in some African countries, less than 5 per cent of the health budget is spent on laboratory testing whereas over 70 per cent decisions by medical doctors depend on laboratory or clinical testing.

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Ngwa Bertrand

27.Oct.2015

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