Ahead of conference in Yaounde: PM salutes Cameroonian doctors in UK for initiatives back home.

He was speaking during an audience granted a delegation of the association on Friday October 18 at the Star Building in Yaounde. The CAMDOC-UK delegation to the audience was led by the association’s president, Dr Linda Ngwi Fonkam Bello.

She used the audience to present the association to the Head of Government. Dr Ngwi Fonkam went on to present some initiatives already carried out in the country since CAMDOC-UK was created in March 2008.

The Prime Minister thanked the doctors for thinking of giving back to their country and promised government’s full support for their initiative.

Conference on health emergency on schedule

The President of CAMDOC-UK told the Prime Minister that during their stay in the country, they will be organising a conference on health emergency in Yaounde.

The two-day conference programmed at the Amphi 700 of the Faculty of Health and Biomedical Sciences of the University of Yaounde I will open on Thursday October 24. 

It will hold under the theme: “Non communicable disease emergencies in low resource setting”. The come together is expected to have in attendance general health practitioners, pharmacists, laboratory technicians, nurses, dentists, specialists

The conference will have at least seven speakers. The President of CAMDOC-UK is expected to deliver a paper on “Communicating with patients in emergency situations and breaking bad news”.

Other keynote speakers include, Professors Jean Claude Mbanya, Alfred Njamshi and Prof Oudou Njoya, all of the University of Yaounde I as well as Prof Simon Pierre Choukem of the University of Dschang.

Prof Theodore Ngatchou of the University of Birmingham Medical School in the UK, Dr Philip Gothard of Royal College of Physicians, London will also deliver lectures during the conference.

Some of the topics to be handled are; overview of emergencies in non-communicable diseases, acute liver failure and fatty liver in Cameroon, Perspectives and challenges in diagnosing and managing non-communicable diseases in Cameroon, the rising epidemic of obesity in Cameroon and Sub-Saharan Africa.

Why focus on non-communicable diseases

Speaking in an interview during the midday TV news on state broadcaster, CRTV on Monday October 21, the President of CAMDOC-UK stated that they decided to talk about non-communicable diseases, which many people suffer from sometimes, even without knowing. 

She said it is important for the population to know how to prevent such diseases given that some are very expensive to manage or treat.

“As an association, we are very passionate about giving back to our country. It’s a conference on non-communicable diseases; non-communicable meaning they are not infectious. We’re talking about cancers, stroke, diabetes, liver problems, things that we need to deal with them in emergencies. We are trying to look at, how do we manage them in a situation where patients don’t really have the financial means,” CAMDOC-UK president stated.

“We want to share knowledge with medical doctors resident and working here in Cameroon in handling such cases and also learn from them. At the end, we want to be able to maybe come up with some guidelines about how they can do things better. We also want a collaboration with the Faculty of Health and Biomedical Sciences, that is our first step,” Dr Linda Bello said.

About CAMDOC-UK & its actions

The association was born out of a desire of Cameroonian medical professionals to get together, share their experiences, support each other and work towards improving healthcare in their communities both within the UK and in Cameroon.

It is out to provide professional expertise to issues relating to Healthcare Development and Promotion in Cameroon and also an environment where mentorship and constructive debate can flourish. 

Forging partnerships with stakeholders in Cameroon healthcare such as medical schools, hospitals, Non-Governmental Organisations is also key to CAMDOC-UK. Since creation, the association has undertaken several actions in the UK and in Cameroon.

During the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, they provided Personal Protective Equipment, PPE to some to hospitals in Cameroon. 

Its members have participated in medical missions in Cameroon and with the support of Patcha Foundation, they help funded health focused charities in Cameroon in 2022. CAMDOC-UK carries out regular educational webinars to educate the Cameroonian community in the UK and back home. 

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3269 of Thursday October 24, 2024