Cameroon to host African paediatricians’ congress

The President of the Union of National African Paediatric Societies and Associations (UNAPSA) and Technical Adviser Number 1 of the Cameroon Paediatrics Association (CPA), Professor Olivier Koki Ndombo has announced that the 13th CPA - UNAPSA Congress will hold in Yaounde from the 20th to 22nd November 2014.

Prof Olivier Koki Ndombo made this announcement during a press conference on 13th November 2014 in Yaounde.

The forum will bring together over 300 paediatricians from about 40 national associations in Africa to discuss under the theme, “Nutrition of the African Child: What Achievements at the Eve of the Third Millenium?”

Participants at the congress will evaluate and design measures to combat hunger and malnutrition in African children as well as review the functioning of the association.

The press conference on 13th November also served as opportunity to reveal the alarming state of malnutrition and hunger, with over 170 million children of five years and below in developing countries, suffering from malnutrition.

The CPA on its part, disclosed that about two billion people suffer from hunger in the country.

During the press conference, Prof Koki frowned at the neglect of health issues like malnutrition in the drawing up of the Millenium Development Goals.

He noted that neglecting malnutrition is dangerous as it could cause retarded physical and cognitive development.