Unmasking the silent killer

An international scientific meeting begins holding today in Yaounde within the aegis of the Cameroon Cardiac Society. Good enough! Yaounde is all too familiar with such scientific concourses which virtually go unnoticed because of their regular sequences. But Cameroonians really have to stop, even if only for a while, to consider the harm being done to them by cardiovascular diseases.

It is not probably for nothing that an ordinary meeting of the Cameroon Cardiac Society is attracting so many foreign scientists. Facts released on the state of the disease in Cameroon today are hair-raising. About 95 percent of the national population is unaware of the existence of cardiovascular diseases and carry these around until they are discovered when they are in a hospital environment. About six million and two million Cameroonians respectively suffer from hypertension and diabetes and in many cases the victims are not even aware of their condition.

Medical authorities blame the rise in the incidence of these diseases to improved living standards especially for the urban rich or, at least those who claim to be in this social category. The nouveau-riche syndrome which leads many to neglect sports or other physical activity also encourages the spread of cardiovascular diseases; so too is the consumption of very fatty foods, especially meats prepared with saturated vegetable oils all claimed to be foods that can only be accessed by the so-called rich.

In this setting, walking to one’s workplace, jogging around rather than making every movement in a car or consuming vegetables in large quantities amounts displaying an image of a deprived person. The government or its field representatives have never reneged on any opportunity to sensitize the population on the dangers of cardiovascular diseases. But on the occasion of the Yaounde meeting opening today, one may suggest some new avenues in the fight to get the population better informed not only on ways to handle such cases, but also on prevention.

Many of the cases arise because of the quality of foods sold out. Government should therefore ensure that all that is sold meets standards that can guarantee safety or, at least, minimize the dangers of heart diseases. So far, government has been seen to neglect this important control role it is supposed to play in ensuring better food or meat quality. Then there is the near-absence of sporting infrastructure. The people are advised to practice sporting activity especially walking or jogging around; but this activity is difficult in a context where this is done in the streets already over-loaded with traffic with the inherent potential for accidents.

Government’s goodwill will be better manifested through the creation of more outdoor sporting facilities so that access to same is easy and within reach of homes. The scientists meeting here today should also make it a point of duty to improve communication and public awareness on the dangers of this silent killer disease.