Health

The last known Ebola patient in Sierra Leone was released from a hospital Monday. If the country goes 42 days without a new case, it will be declared Ebola-free. But the virus’ effects continue to haunt many residents, including those who buried the bodies of Ebola victims. When Ebola was at its peak a year ago, corpses sometimes would be left for days before being picked up by overwhelmed burial teams.

The images of decomposed bodies began to haunt burial worker Abu Bakar Kalokah after he joined the Red Cross.   "You become nervous. Sometimes you sit alone, thinking what is going to happen tomorrow because tomorrow is another day and the work is not easy," he said. All burials in Sierra Leone must be done by teams wearing protective gear to prevent the virus from spreading from the deceased to the living.  Seeing people killed by Ebola day in and day out was daunting for the burial teams. Some even turned to drugs and alcohol to cope.

To ease their burden, the International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC) brought in brought in psychosocial experts to administer psychological first aid. One method they taught burial members to do, was to use comedic skits, song and dance to ease stress. Performing for each other helps everyone decompress, said another burial team member, Tamba Musa, adding, "When they come and see these funny dances, it makes them forget the day’s traumas, the trauma they’ve gone through." Joshua Abioseh Duncan is a coordinator for the Mental Health Coalition of Sierra Leone. The coalition, created in 2011, strives to make sure that mental health professionals are available in every district of the country.

This includes teaching people how to provide psychosocial support for each other. For the Ebola response the coalition also worked with government and international partners on mental health issues. This included teaching people how to provide psychosocial support for each other in communities. Counseling will need to continue after the country is Ebola-free, Duncan said.  But, he worries there may not be enough trained people to help. "I only know of one Sierra Leone psychologist, and for me that is a challenge," Duncan said. "Professional counselors – we need more of them. We need more individuals to provide service with regards to issues of this kind." He added that there’s only one psychiatrist for the country’s 6 million people. With so many affected by Ebola, he said, it’s simply not enough.

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Ngwa Bertrand

29.Sep.2015

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Children, medics say, can be victims of cardiovascular diseases through venereal infection by mothers in the early months of pregnancy. Viral infections after birth, poor antenatal care and treatment are also possible causes of heart problems in children. In order to sensitise the public, the National Electricity Corporation, Eneo, in collaboration with La Société Camerounaise de Cardiologie, organised a press conference in Douala on September 21, 2015.

The lecture of Dr Félicité Kamdem, a cardiologist with the Douala General Hospital, clearly stated that 8-10 in every 1,000 children in the world are born with heart problems, with 25 per cent dying before one month if measures are not taken. On the other hand, 50 per cent need surgery in their childhood, 20 per cent are operated when they reach adolescence and 10 per cent live normal lives for long before their problems are discovered. 

The fact that some children are born with heart problems does not necessarily mean it is hereditary, Dr Félicité pointed out. Some contract it after birth - for example when throat problems are poorly treated. Symptoms like sinuses, respiratory difficulties, and stunted growth, among others, should be taken seriously, the experts warned. According to Dr Marie Solange Ndom, preventive measures like reducing cholesterol intake, eating enough fruits and vegetables, doing sports daily, watching television and playing video games for less than an hour daily, are also advisable for adults.

Others are avoiding cigarette smoke and alcohol and carrying out routine medical checks. After revealing that 30 per cent of Cameroonians are hypertensive, which is one of the risk factors of cardiovascular diseases, Eneo’s Medical Adviser, Dr Joseph Dieuboue, added that Eneo has since 10 years, carried out sensitisation, free screening and trained 505 doctors and nurses on cardiovascular diseases. This year’s Heart Days on the theme, “A healthy heart for all children is possible everywhere,” will take the team to 20 schools where 40,000 pupils will be sensitised and screened. Meanwhile, heart surgery for children ranges from FCFA 3.5 million to FCFA 4.5 million in the Shisong Cardiac Centre in Kumbo in the North West Region; which is much cheaper that what obtains abroad.

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Ngwa Bertrand

25.Sep.2015

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The Minister of Public Health, André Mama Fouda, on Friday, September 18, 2015, commissioned the new General Manager of the Cameroon Essential Drugs Procurement Centre, CENAME. Dr. Joseph Vaillam was formerly Inspector General in charge of Administrative Services in the Ministry of Public Health. He took over from Dr. Taousse Oussoumanou who headed the structure since 2005. Minister André Mama Fouda hailed Dr. Taoussse for his loyal service to the nation, calling on the new General Manager to continue to promote the availability of quality drugs in the country for the good of all. He reminded Dr. Vaillam of the major challenge facing the country, which is the increase in fake drugs in markets. This phenomenon can only be tackled by ensuring the supply of quality drugs, the Minister pointed out.

Born about 1961 in Guider in the North Region, Dr. Joseph Vaillam attended primary and secondary schools in Guider and Tcholliré. After obtaining the Baccalaureat certificate in Government High School Garoua in 1981, he attended the Cheikh Anta Diop University Dakar, Senegal, where he obtained a PhD in Pharmacy in 1987. He was recruited in the Ministry of Public Health in 1987. He later held several posts and in 1994, was promoted the Provincial Chief of Service for Pharmacy, Adamawa. In 2006, he was appointed Inspector of Pharmaceutics and Laboratory Services in the Ministry of Public Health. Since June 6, 2014, he has been Inspector General of Administrative Services in the Ministry of Public Health; a post he occupied till his recent appointment. 

Dr. Vaillam has a rich professional background. Throughout his professional career, he received training in monitoring health activities in Porto Novo, Benin, in 1992, supervision, control and evaluation of pharmaceutical schools in 1995, training of trainers in health planning in 2006, training in internal verification at the Supreme State Control in 2009, 2011 and 2015, among others. Dr. Joseph Vaillam hails from the Mayo Louti Division in the North Region. He is a widower and father of eight children.

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Ngwa Bertrand

21.Sep.2015

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President Biya has dismissed Oussoumanou Taoussé, the General Manager of the National Centre for the supply of essential drugs (CENAME) and Louis Raoul Massing Bias, the General Manger of the National Laboratory for quality control of medicine (LANACOME). The two structures are under the Ministry of Public Health.

President Biya replaced the 55 years old Oussoumanou Taoussé, after 17 years in office with Joseph Vaillam and also did appoint Rose Ngono Mballa to take over from Louis Raoul Massing Bias. The two officials dismissed were regularly accused by local media of feeding the Cameroonian public with fake medicines. 

Cameroon Concord Intelligence Unit however gathered that both Oussoumanou Taousse and Louis Raoul Massing were at daggers-drawn positions with the current minister of public health, André Mama Fouda who sought the intervention of the Civil Cabinet of the Presidency of the Republic.

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Ngwa Bertrand

18.Sep.2015

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Curtains dropped on the 2015 AIDS-free Holidays campaign in metropolitan Bamenda on September 10, 2015, with strong recommendations for drastic changes in lifestyles to remain healthy. Also, the commitment of the campaign’s initiator, First Lady Chantal Biya, to inspire hope in the future with an AIDS-free generation, was topical. Conceived in 2003 to create awareness and reduce the risk of contamination of Sexually-transmitted Diseases, STIs and HIV/AIDS among young people, AIDS-free Holidays campaigns take credit as annual events that recruit, train and deploy young people to sensitise on behavioral change attitudes.

It was a rare moment for the population of the North West to show gratitude to the First Lady, Founding President of African Synergy Against AIDS and Suffering, and Special UNAIDS Ambassador, Chantal Biya for inspiration and selfless generosity. The Government Delegate to the Bamenda City Council, Ndumu Nji Vincent and Peer Educators, saluted her humanitarian support for the health and welfare of Cameroonians, especially vulnerable groups. 

The Executive Secretary of African Synergy Against AIDS and Suffering, Jean Stephane Biatcha, stressed that First Lady Chantal Biya has a special concern for the health of the nation’s youths, especially during holidays when excesses are common. He said the campaign is a means to educate youths to change behaviour, urging the public to be vigilant and more responsible in the fight against AIDS. Jean Stephane Biatcha urged Peer Educators to rise to expectation because they have become part of the First Lady’s team to fight HIV/AIDS.

North West Governor, Adolphe Lele Lafrique was in the chair when CERAC women, led by their Coordinator, Linda Yang, North West elite and guests, cheered what Jean Stephane Biatcha described as “a fantastic event” in Bamenda. The Governor paid tribute to the First Lady for the regular mobilisation of material and financial support for annual AIDS-free Holiday campaigns in her commitment to have a healthy population for nation-building. Attestations, school reopening parcels and exhibitions, were part of the event.

The 13th edition involved over 500 Peer Educators and it emerged from the Bamenda event that the youths were involved in three weeks of intensive inter-personal communication and group discussions where young people were mobilised to go for voluntary HIV testing and counseling. They also used social media to raise awareness on HIV. “Chicks say no to AIDS,” was the theme of this year’s campaign. The North West Coordinator of the Technical Group for the Fight Against HIV, Dr Gladys Tayong, revealed that the campaign in the region held 37,368 educative discussions after reaching out to 103,700 people. In all, 4,245 people were tested for HIV in the North West Region.

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Ngwa Bertrand

12.Sep.2015

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Four Cameroon government ministers appeared at the bedside of babies Davis and Daril to officially reassure the family of government support and proper management of their plight and other Siamese babies staying in the clinic. The highly placed government officials hinted that arrangements have been made for their medical evacuation to Tunisia. Cameroon Concord has gathered that the operation will be carried out in one of the most highly equipped hospitals in the Arab nation. 

At the time of filing in this news item,our health reporter added that, the Chantal Biya Foundation in partnership with the four ministerial departments have agreed to bear the cost of the medical process in Tunisia. Among the government officials who visited the clinic were: André Mama Fouda, Minister of Public Health, Alim Garga Hayatou, Secretary of State for Public Health Management, the Minister for the Promotion of Women and the Family, Marie Thérèse Abena Ondoa and Minister of Social Affairs, Catherine Bakank Mbock.

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Ngwa Bertrand

09.Sep.2015

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