Minister creates advisory body to develop cooperation with Cameroon’s diaspora.

The initiative which came into existence some three years ago, has received a positive response from government following the recent creation of a Working Group in charge of developing cooperation with the diaspora in the health domain.

The strategic body was created by Minister Health Minister, Dr Manaouda Malachie. The ministerial decision setting up and laying down the functioning of the Working Group, has been seen by The Guardian Post.

Headed by the Secretary General at the Ministry of Public Health, the body comprises ten members resident in Cameroon and abroad.

Placed under the authority of the Minister of Public Health, the Working Group, according to the decision, shall be an advisory body between the Ministry of Public Health and the Diaspora. 

It shall be responsible for defining the broad guidelines and general objectives of the Cameroon diaspora participation and support in strengthening the national public health system at the technical level as well as in the areas of performance and accountability

The decision has specified that the body “shall be responsible for: Defining the intervention domains of the Cameroon diaspora in the health domain; Setting up a support mechanism for the professional insertion in the Cameroon health system of the members of the diaspora working in the health domain and promoting and facilitating the implementation of the diaspora interventions throughout the national territory”.

The body, it was equally disclosed will be charged with the development of mechanisms for the recognition and use of the diaspora high-impact initiatives in the health system as well as the coordination and monitoring of the implementation of the diaspora activities in the health domain in Cameroon.

The Working Group will also ensure the coordination of the interventions of the various administrations and organisations involved as well as review and adopt the annual programme of activities.

The group will monitor the implementation of the plurennial plans and operational action plans as well as consolidate the decisions taken.

Strengthening cooperation with diaspora

The creation of a Working Group in charge of developing cooperation with the diaspora in the health domain, is unarguably a response to the Cameroon Town Hall for Healthcare Professionals, an initiative midwifed by some Cameroonian health experts based abroad. The creation of the Working Group was thus expected following government’s endorsement of the initiative last year.

Participating in one of the meetings held virtually in December last year, Public Health Minister, Dr Manaouda Malachie, had appreciated the efforts made by initiators of the Cameroon Town Hall for Healthcare Professionals on leveraging diaspora citizens to optimise and innovate the country’s healthcare services.

Speaking as special guest during the meeting, the Minister had hailed the medics for thinking of homeland.

“I had the pleasure this evening to get access to the Cameroon town hall platform, to discuss online with our brothers and sisters health professionals in the diaspora, on the opportunities for collaboration with a view to their contributions to transforming our health system,” Dr Manaouda twitted after the session. 

Enter Ndansi Elvis

Meanwhile, speaking to The Guardian Post on Sunday, the Co-founder of the Cameroon Town Hall for Healthcare Professionals, United States-based health professional, Ndansi Elvis, described the creation of the Working Group in charge of developing cooperation with the diaspora in the health domain as a timely move which will help boost the country’s health system.

Ndansi has since been praising Minister Manaouda Malachie for keeping to his promise.

He recalled that “the Minister has been guest of the Cameroon Town Hall for Health Professionals twice. During those moments, he had a very great interaction with Cameroonian healthcare professionals in the diaspora who expressed their concerns about the challenges they face when they try giving back to Cameroon”.

Ndansi explained that some of the challenges which participants had submitted to the Minister include “difficulties having visas for those who are having other citizenships…other issues include challenges of having the licence to practice home for individuals who didn’t study Cameroon and are not members of the national order of medical doctors or nurses. So, it takes them a lot of time to get accreditation to practice at home. So all these challenges, makes it hard for them to give back to Cameroon”.

Ndansi disclosed that after interacting with the healthcare professionals, Public Health minister had promised that “for him to overcome these challenges, he is going to create an inter-ministerial committee that will be in charge solely for the healthcare professionals in the diaspora-and that this committee will be able to meet with members who have been appointed from the diaspora under the Cameroon Town Hall for Healthcare Professionals as the umbrella association”.

“So he kept to his promise. He has created a Working Group in the Ministry of Public Health which is being chaired by the Secretary General as chairperson and he has appointed members and rapporteurs, and amongst these are four healthcare professionals from the diaspora representing Europe, North America and Asia…” he added.

He then disclosed the Cameroon Town Hall for Healthcare Professionals now counts a total membership of 2,150 Cameroonian healthcare professionals from 35 countries.