What You Need to Know about The Award Winning HIV-Free NW/SW Project of the CBC Health Board

Project representative receiving the award from Pastor Maurice Tamfu

On August 31, 2015, HIV-Free North West/ South West Project was honoured at the 9^th Anniversary of The Eye Newspaper as Best All Round Result-oriented Project of The Year 2014/2015. Barely a week, CERAC also honoured the project with another award today September 10, 2015 in Bamenda for its outstanding contribution in Free Aids Holiday. The project has been hailed for being worthy in the result-orientation, transparency and outreach. This project of the CBC Health Board stood out from the madding crowd due to its outstanding efforts and skills in the delivery of psychological services to people living with or affected by HIV/AIDS. The approach adopted by the Prof. Tih Pius led team in the delivery of technical and support services to community agencies that provide a range of HIV/AIDS-related services to individuals and communities affected by HIV/AIDS have proven to be commendable. The psychological services the CBC Health Board is providing to people living with HIV/AIDS (treatment and prevention, and technical and support services) has contributed largely to reducing the rate of infection in the country. The project has displayed the ability to adapt fast and efficiently to changing circumstances especially in expanding coverage and improving the quality of facility and community Based Prevention of mother to Child Transmission of HIV in the Southwest and Northwest regions of Cameroon. With a unique methodology, the project works in collaboration with service providers, the media, community leaders, religious bodies and government services. Thanks to the engagement of the fruitful partnership, the results all pregnant women go for early Antenatal care-ANC and PMTCT services. According statistics, PMTCT has scaled up its sites in the North West and South West Regions to 591(341sites in the North West and 250 sites in the South West Region). Besides, the project also trained more than 957 service providers who are actually providing PMTCT services in the two regions as well as empowered 370 peer educators, alongside 70 MCH aides, 71 church leaders, and 116 Muslim leaders  who are all in the field carrying out sensitization on ANC and following-up PMTCT clients. Approximately, 35 motorbikes were acquired to ease field activities while PMTCT coordinators were trained on supply chain management. By the end of the year 2014, 80 CD4 machines (45 in the North West and 35 in the South West) were installed and 16 facilities established for the printing of PCR results on the spot.

The introduction by the CBC Health of option B+ treatment regimen in two districts namely Bamenda in the North West and Kumba in the South West Region is great step in the health sector.

When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)