Medical centre stripped bare by thieves in Douala

The Empower Medical Centre run by Aids Acodev Cameroon in Douala, is again object of criminal thievery. Douala, with more than 3,000,000 inhabitants, is Cameroon`s largest city.

Overnight on November 21 – 22, unidentified thieves broke into the Centre in the Dogbong neighbourhood, at Carrefour Citade, penetrating through the ceiling.

These criminals almost cleared out the Centre. There are insufficient materials for the Centre to offer its medical and other services.

The bandits took most of the useful inventory: an Olympus microscope, a blood pressure monitor, two complete Compaq computers, a Camtel landline, a Camtel internet key, two laser printers, a glucometer, the fridge, a Samsung television set, two mattresses, a bed, twenty-six chairs and two tables.

The criminals slipped away undetected, “blending into nature with the stolen goods. It was not until 8 am on November 22nd that one of our nurses discovered the theft,” explained Adonis Tchoudja, the association’s president.

He added that “it is our second theft at the center; we suffered our first break-in on December 13, 2013 when thieves took away several items.”

Tchoudja pleads for help from the community to replace these materials, vital to enable the Centre to continue its mission as soon as possible.

Aids Acodev Cameroon was founded in 2009 by a group of young sex workers who were aware that sex work may increase the risk of STDs, including HIV and viral hepatitis. The group helps the most disadvantaged and vulnerable in the Douala community, particularly sex workers.

We campaign for the human rights of sex workers, particularly their right to have access to medical services, information, training and education. We also fight against all forms of discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, real or imagined, said Tchoudja.

The group urgently needs to get its medical centre back to work.