Handling infections: Gov’t, UNIDO discuss boosting SMEs to improve medical products supply.

A meeting in this light took place in Yaounde yesterday. It was under the theme: “Production and quality improvement”. The project is titled: Promoting public health by improving the national supply chain capacity for medical products for increase resilience against COVI-19 and other infectious diseases.

Ministries that took part in the exercise included Mines, Industries and Technological Development, MINMIDT, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises, Social Economy and Handicraft, MINPMESSA and Public Health, MINSANTE.

The government of Japan was also represented at the meeting.

 UNIDO Cameroon Field Office Representative for Central Africa, Raymond Tavares, presided over the event.  Tavares told stakeholders at the meeting that the project aims at assisting SMEs in Cameroon that are producing medical equipment to eradicate the spread of COVI-19 and other viral infections.

He disclosed that, “so far, we have started assessing the SMEs which have the capacity to produce or facilitate the availability of the products and then we have begun training and coaching on various topics”.

The UNIDO official cited equipment procurement as one of the key areas with the goal being to add value to what they already have.  He also talked of supporting innovations concerning equipment protection and maintenance.

According to Tavares, during the outbreak of the COVID-19, a good many Non-Governmental Organisations, NGOs and the government of Japan took a decision to support other affected countries.

Japan, he recalled, ensured the availability of key products such as; vaccines, facemasks among others.

He said the training is focused on the production and quality improvement of biomedical enterprises in Cameroon. The field representative highlighted that “the training touches on the selection of equipment needed, upgrading producers to international levels, and supporting them throughout the whole process”.

Other Participants at the meeting included SMEs specialised in the production, acquisition and promotion of medical products needed in fighting pandemics.

 Staphan Mouafo, a Biomedical Engineer, who took part in the exercise, noted that the knowledge acquired would enable him “to ameliorate my production techniques and detect good quality material needed for production of a good and satisfying product.”

Since 1986, UNIDO has implemented 129 projects in Cameroon. The focus has been on the development of productive activities that generate income and create decent jobs for vulnerable people amongst others.

The organisation’s recent operations in Cameroon have been under the banner of the United Nations Sustainable Development Framework for the period 2022-2026.