Congo donates Ebola protective kits to Cameroon

As part of the fraternal relations between Presidents Paul Biya and Joseph Kabila, the Democratic Republic of Congo has provided the Government of Cameroon with two Ebola Kits comprising one hundred protective clothing for medical staff.

The Minister of Public Health, Andre Mama Fouda, announced the donation recently in Yaounde, during a press briefing on the health situation in Cameroon. The Minister recalled that the D.R Congo had registered the Ebola epidemic in the past and was in a very good position to contribute to the preventive dispositions that Cameroon is taking.

He drew a balance sheet of how the Government is fighting cholera and poliomyelitis, disclosing some possible measures Cameroon and her partners are taking to fight the Ebola virus. The Public Health boss called on journalists to actively participate in the fight against the virus.

He pointed out that no suspected case of the Ebola virus has been detected in Cameroon, but insisted that any person who has stayed in a country affected by the epidemic should immediately go to a health unit in case he or she notices one of the symptoms of the virus; fever, muscle pain, diarrhea, vomiting and hemorrhages. He equally urged people to avoid touching or eating game or bush meat, especially as Cameroon has fauna and flora which could favour the spread of the Ebola epidemic.

Highlighting actions taken by Government in preparation for a possible emergence, he said management and isolation units have been created in the Yaounde Central hospital, Laquintinie hospital in Douala and the regional hospitals of Bamenda, Bertoua, Garoua, Maroua, Limbe and Ngaoundere. In addition to this, partners such as WHO, USAID and GVC have joined the fight by facilitating the acquisition of equipment to manage patients and the protection of health personnel, he added.

Capacity building workshops are equally being organised, with the last organised in Douala August 5 to 6, under the supervision of experts from WHO, Afro and GVC. It is expected that specific days of immersion for the media, forces of law and other stakeholders would be organised in the days ahead.

Mama Fouda talked about the first edition of the International Forum on Health to be organised in Cameroon from September 24-26, 2014, which would bring together all health professionals in the country on the theme, “Tomorrow’s Hospital’.