Editorial: Surprise visit to local eye hospital;Biya should also visit gov’t hospitals.

But last Sunday, he surprised many with an unannounced visit to the Magrabi ICO Cameroon Eye Institute, MICEI, which is one of the best hospitals specialised in vision care with sub-specialties in the Central Africa Subregion.
It was created by Africa Eye Foundation in 2016, thanks to a common vision of three organisations: The International Council of Ophthalmology, ICO; the Al Noor-Magrabi Foundation, a non-profit foundation registered in Egypt; and That Every Life Might Count, TELMC, foundation, a non-profit foundation registered in Switzerland.
Magrabi ICO Cameroon Eye Institute's mission is to provide men, women and children with comprehensive and quality international eye care services, without distinction, at an affordable cost.
The private visit by President Biya comprised a top level delegation, which included The First Lady, Chantal Biya, and the Minister, Director of the Civil Cabinet of the Presidency of the Republic, Samuel Mvondo Ayolo.
Pictures, which circulated on social media on Sunday, showed President Biya heartily greeting medical staff while his wife beamed smiles.
The million dollar question that remains unanswered is whether the Head of State visited for medical consultation or to evaluate the facilities at the centre or as a political stunt in preparation for next year's presidential poll.
Logically, he would not have been going to assess the facilities and competence of staff since the centre is not a government facility.
It is also risky to assume that the Head of State went for an ophthalmological consultation, since his bill of health is not subject to public debate as in other democracies.
On January 13, 1998, Publisher/Editor-in-Chief of Le Messager newspaper, Pius Njawe (now of blessed memory), was sentenced to two years in prison and fined 500,000 FCFA francs for spreading false information about the health of President Biya. Njawe was convicted for an article titled: “Is President Biya sick?”
He later apologised, but Cameroon’s Liberty Law on the press does not exonerate a reporter and publisher for a fluff in reporting even when to err is human.
It is against that background that the reason for Biya’s weekend visit to a private medical facility remains an ambiguity. 
If, however, he went for eye consultation since he is sometimes seen wearing glasses, it would be an applauded development.
In charting a development map for the country's economic development, Biya recommended "import substitution," which also should include using local services instead of travelling abroad. 
He will also be setting an example for those who want to be evacuated abroad for minor health challenges that can be competently handled in Cameroon.
In March 2022, parliamentarians were told by the Minister of Public Health, Dr Manaouda Malachie, that some 1,158 patients applied to be evacuated abroad for medical treatment in the month of February.
That was happening at a time the minister boasted that: “We have an excellent technical platform and qualified personnel. We do not understand why we must continue to evacuate our compatriots each time they are suffering from an illness”.
He added that: “We no longer have anything to envy from other countries in terms of technical platform or human resources...with the hosting of the AFCON in the country, many health centres and Referral Hospitals have seen their infrastructure upgraded”.
That evaluation by the minister was self-serving.
Patients are reported to have been held against their wish after treatment in government hospitals, where services are supposed to be free; because they couldn't pay their bills which at times are exploitative. There have also been scandals of patients in emergencies being denied medical attention in State medical facilities because they couldn't afford deposits.
President Biya's weekend visit to the medical facility on the outskirts of Yaounde, from whatever perspective it is evaluated, is commendable. The fact that pictures were in the social media should be indicative that the President wants to encourage and promote national medical facilities.
The Guardian Post recommends that such unpublicised visits by the Head of State, not necessarily for consultation, should be extended to government medical facilities that have over the years been smeared with controversies and scandals.
That will keep staff alert, ameliorate the health delivery service and instil confidence in the public to believe the country's health problems can be effectively treated locally without expensive evacuations abroad.