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| French Ambassador Laying foundation stone at CBC HB |
French Ambassador to
Cameroon Christine Robichon has declared that the Cameroon Baptist
Convention-Health Board truly embodies the best civil society can offer in
Cameroon. Christine Robichn made that statement on September 28, in Bamenda
before proceeding to the laying of the foundation stone for the construction of
the Nkwen Baptist Health Centre Maternity. Harping on the partnership between
the French Development Agency, C2D and the CBC Health Services, Christine
Robichon said that “by providing health care in rural areas to all the
population, the CBC HB has helped over one million patients”. She also
applauded the CBC HB due to the fact that more than ten thousand women were
able to give birth in safe conditions. “The quality, availability and
compassion of its staff does not need to be proven anymore. This is why
supporting CBC-HB is an evidence for France”. She emphasized that the direct
loan provided by the French Development Agency to CBC will allow them to expand
and improve services in four hospitals and four health centers. She revealed
that the reason for teaming up with the CBC HB to put in place good
infrastructure cannot be over emphasized given that upon completion, “this
building will house 80 beds, an ante-natal clinic, a dental and eye service,
turning the Nkwen Health Center into a regional health solution hub for the
population of Bamenda and Mezam”.
In presenting the CBC
Health Services to the French Ambassador and entourage, Prof. Tih Pius Muffih, the
Director of Health Services said that the structure is more than 60 years old
and addresses both clinical and public health problems affecting individuals,
families and communities in Cameroon. “We
run 7 hospitals, 29 integrated health centers, 50 primary healthcare centers, a
pharmaceutical production and distribution department, a training school for
health personnel, residency training programs in general surgery and internal
medicine, services for people with disabilities, a comprehensive AIDS care and
Prevention program and many other services. He expressed gratitude to the
French Government for the partnership which will go a long way to upgrade
healthcare facilities of the Cameroon Baptist Convention –Health Services
through the construction/completion of 9 healthcare infrastructures, the
procurement of medical equipment and upgrading of the management systems of the
structures. “We committed ourselves to implementing the projects in accordance
with the terms of the agreement. We have kept to that commitment. In line with
our vision of providing quality healthcare to 100.000 more Cameroonians
annually”, Prof. Tih added.
The Cameroon Baptist Convention Health
Services (CBCHS) where Prof. Tih is Director is a nonprofit, Faith-based
healthcare organization, which started over 60 years ago in a small village
(Mbem), Nwa Sub Division in Donga/Mantung Division of the North West Region. It
has over the years expanded into six of Cameroon's 10 regions: Northwest,
Southwest, Center, West, Adamawa, and Littoral. Prof. Tih oversees these
structures that range from village Primary Health Care to highly specialized
hospital based care with an integration of other social services. Worthy to
note that the CBCHS comprises of 6 hospitals (2 of which are 250 bed
hospitals), over 25 integrated Health Centers, 50 primary Health Centers,
Pharmaceutical procurement and distribution department, a Baptist Training
School for Health Personnel (BTSHP), a Center for Clinical Pastoral Education
and Social Services (CECPES), Services for People with Disabilities, among
others. The CBCHS works in partnership with national and international
governmental and nongovernmental health care organizations, and funding
agencies in Africa and other parts of the world.
Besides, Prof. Tih thought of the rural poor
women when he initiated with a friend a loan scheme for women. This was another
action similar to that of de Montaigne’s Duress for the scope of activities within the CBCHS
spans beyond healthcare provision as it equally participates in poverty
alleviation by sponsoring microproject loans to women through the Women’s
Initiative for Health Education, and Economic Development Cameroon
(WINHEEDCAM). To better manage these loans and provide trustworthy banking
services, the Board created the Mutual Guarantee Financing Company (MUGFIC), a
microfinance institution, which functions with credibility, efficiency and
transparency to enable the rural poor to invest in productive activities and
become self dependent.
In the domain of training, the CBCHS’s Baptist
Training School for Health Personnel (BTSHP) trains certified nurses, midwives,
dental assistants; laboratory, pharmacy, xray, physiotherapy, biomedical
assistants and primary health care technicians. The school also offers
personnel of the CBCHS screening and other specialized trainings. One important
achievement of the CBCHS is the fact that the organisation has gone beyond
first level training to offer specialized training in various domains like the
Pan African Academy of Christian Surgeons (PAACS) residency program, the
Christian Internal Medicines Specialization (CIMS) program, and so on. Medical
students and residents from Cameroon, the United States, Canada, Britain,
Switzerland and Germany visit the CBCHS every year for practical experiences in
Tropical Medicines. The organisation also offers unique opportunities for
medical and paramedical practitioners to volunteer their services for patients
while at the same time giving the Cameroonian staff the chance to upgrade their
skills. Cameroonian and expatriate physicians equally offer high quality health
services in many institutions of the CBCHS around the country. This has raised
the organisation’s institutions to some of the most excellent medical
infrastructure in Cameroon and the Central and West African subregions. In fact
Mbingo and Banso Baptist Hospitals today rank among the highest referral
hospitals in Cameroon.When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)
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