Health

The Director of the Yaounde General Hospital Mr Elijah Claude Ndam Njitoyap is currently in France for medical treatment since over two weeks.

It is alleged that the Minister of Public Health , Andre Mama Fouda finally authorized the evacuation of the Director after many requests were filed for the government to grant and cover his medical cost according to the Mutations daily in its April 13, 2016 edition . The reasons for the evacuation of the DG of the Yaounde General Hospital France continues to create controversy ."

Sources say the absence of the Director has in no way interfered with the daily running of activities at the Hospital.The head of the technical and medical division of the hospital is currently representing the absentee Director in all his functions.

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Elangwe Pauline

18.Apr.2016

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A two-day workshop organised by the University of Yaounde I and “Médecins du Monde” ends today in Yaounde.

 

Over 100 medical practitioners from different domains are currently undergoing training on how to enhance the quality of life for children in the face of an ultimately terminal condition. Organised by Doctors of the World (Médecins du Monde) from Switzerland and the Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences of the University of Yaounde I, the two-day workshop which ends today April 14, is within the first phase of a project “Children Palliative Care in South Countries.” The project aims to give access to and improve pediatric palliative care and support of pain for vulnerable (children) populations on the international scene. It is an initiative of “Medecins du Monde”.

While opening the workshop on behalf of the Rector of the University of Yaounde I, the Vice-Rector in Charge of Teaching, Professor Daniel Abwa lauded the initiative which is not only going to edify student doctors on pediatric palliative care but will also help those already working to better handle such situations when need arises. 

The Director of the Mother and Child Centre of the Chantal Biya Foundation, Professor Koki Ndombo who is a pediatrician, explained that they are out to know better how to care for children with diseases that cannot be treated and how they can reduce pain and discomfort the children face in a bid to boost their moral and wellbeing. He explained that a lot needs to be known by medical personnel on how to treat or delay pains in children not only with drugs but with other professionals such as educationists, humorists and musicians.

Besides sensitisation and theoretical sessions, participants at the workshop will also share experiences with experts from other countries such as Uganda and Kenya. The Hemato-Oncologist Paediatrician from Doctors of the World, Dr Cecile Choudja Ouabo said they will discuss on oncology paediatric cancer, neonatology pathologies in children amongst other issues.

At the end of the workshop, it is expected that participants will not only be informed on what palliative care is about but will also be able to integrate it immediately in their daily duties. The President of the Treatment of Pain Society in Cameroon who is also the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the University of Yaounde I, Professor Ze Minkande Jacqueline said the workshop is within the role of the faculty to train doctors from the base to become generalist or specialist.  

Cameroon Tribune

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Elangwe Pauline

15.Apr.2016

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The 17th edition of Mother and Child Nutrition and health action week kicks off this 15th April 2016 in Cameroon.

The three day event will be marked by an intense vaccination campaign where vaccination agents will move from door to door to administer Polio vaccine to children from zero to five years; the vitamin A vaccine to children from six months to five years; while pregnant women will receive some preventive treatment against Malaria. 

In the Centre Region, the Regional Delegate of Public Health attests that all the supplements are available to be used in all the districts. All this is aimed at attaining a hundred percent coverage of the immunization campaign in the Centre Region.

In the Centre Region, vaccination agents will move to schools, market places to meet parents and children.

Parents have also been called upon to react positively to the vaccination campaign which will cover the 30 health districts of the Centre Region.

The Mother and Child Nutrition and Health action week has also coincided with the African immunization week.

CRTV

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Elangwe Pauline

15.Apr.2016

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The diabetes symptoms you never suspected were side effects of the disease

Not every case of type 2 diabetes symptoms presents the obvious—unquenchable thirst, nonstop bathroom trips, and numbness in your hands or feet. Look out for these other subtle signs that something may be amiss with your blood sugar:  

1. You've noticed unpleasant skin changes Dark, velvety patches in the folds of skin, usually on the back of the neck, elbows, or knuckles, are often an early warning sign of too-high blood sugar levels and diabetes symptoms. Although genetics or hormonal conditions can cause the skin disorder, called acanthosis nigricans, "when I notice the patches, the first thing I do is test my patient's blood sugar," says Sanjiv Saini, MD, a dermatologist in Edgewater, Maryland. "High insulin levels promote the growth of skin cells, and melanin, a pigment in these cells, makes the patches dark." The test may show that the patient already has diabetes, but, more likely, it will detect higher-than-normal blood sugar levels, suggesting the patient is on the way to developing the disease, explains Saini. Losing weight—as little as 10 pounds—will likely lower blood sugar levels and help the condition clear up. Otherwise, he says a dermatologist can treat it with laser therapy or topical retina A.

2. Your vision improved out of nowhere
Sorry, suddenly being able to ditch your glasses probably isn't good news: "You'll often read that blurry vision is as a diabetes symptom when, in fact, vision can change for better or worse," says Howard Baum, MD, an assistant professor of medicine in the diabetes division at Vanderbilt University. "I've had patients tell me that their vision has improved when their blood sugars were elevated, and then after they start treating their diabetes, they needed their glasses again." What gives? Diabetes causes fluid levels in the body to shift around, including inside your eyes, which leads to the erratic eyesight.

3. You have unrelenting itchiness
Think it's silly to mention scratchy skin to your doctor? Not so. Diabetes impairs blood circulation, which can lead to dryness and itchiness. "Some of my newly diagnosed diabetes patients mention they're itchy on their extremities—the hands, lower legs, and feet—so it's something doctors should consider in conjunction with other diabetes symptoms," says Baum. If regular use of a moisturizer doesn't fix the itch, bring it up at your next appointment.

4. Your hearing isn't what it used to be
If you find yourself cranking the volume on the TV or you can't get through a conversation without asking people to repeat themselves, tell your doctor you need a blood sugar test. One study by the National Institute of Health suggested hearing loss could be an early diabetes symptom: People with higher than normal blood sugar who didn't yet meet the criteria for diabetes were 30% more likely to have hearing damage than those with healthy glucose levels. The researchers believe that diabetes damages the blood vessels and nerves of the inner ear, leading to sub-par hearing.

5. You snore like a chainsaw
"About half of type 2 diabetics have sleep-disordered breathing, So if you're diagnosed with the condition—characterized by loud snoring and daytime sleepiness—it's a good bet to get your blood sugar levels checked, too. One recent Canadian study showed that 23% of patients diagnosed with mild or moderate obstructive sleep apnea, a common sleep disorder, went on to develop diabetes within 5½ years. The connection isn't completely understood, but there's one important link between the two: Patients with sleep-disordered breathing tend to release stress hormones during sleep, which can raise blood sugar levels.

prevention.com

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Elangwe Pauline

15.Apr.2016

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Limbe-Cameroon - Julianna Senze, 40, had been in heavy labour for eight hours when she arrived at the Idenau Health Centre in Limbe, on the southwest coast of Cameroon.

Like many women in the country, she had had no prenatal care, so what should have been a routine delivery was now a high-risk medical procedure. The nurses, looking worn and tired, rushed her to the delivery room.

"We had to get her here quickly from Batoke village, some eight kilometres away, after receiving an SMS message from the doctor on duty," said her husband, his voice strained with worry. Less than an hour later, Senze safely delivered a healthy baby boy.

Only a few years ago, Senze's story could have had a more tragic ending.

Cameroon has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world. More than 7,000 women die due to pregnancy-related causes and 58,000 children under the age of 5 lose their lives every year in Cameroon, according to the United Nations Population Fund in Cameroon.

Most of them live in rural parts of the country, where health services are weakest.

But a combination of solar energy and a new mobile phone platform, which gives women access to important health information, is changing that.

New renewable energy projects are giving more people the electricity they need to access health information, and giving hospitals power to deliver essential care, experts say.

The message that may have saved Senze's life was sent using Gifted Mom, a mobile platform founded by Cameroon engineer Alain Nteff in 2012.

The text-messaging service and app gives women in out-of-the-way rural communities free health advice, sending reminders about prenatal check-ups and children's vaccinations. It tells users when and where to get the treatment they need, and gives them access to doctors who can answer health-related questions.

According to Nteff, Gifted Mom is now used in all 10 regions of the country.

"The project expects to help reduce the number of Cameroonian women who die during childbirth and the number of babies who die at birth by at least 70 percent by 2020," said Nteff, talking to the press in Yaounde.

But Gifted Mom's success would be impossible if it weren't for the other projects tackling another issue that blights the lives of those living in rural Cameroon: lack of electricity.

 

SOLAR AND WIND STEP IN

According to the World Bank, nearly 600 million people in sub-Saharan Africa - most of them in rural areas where poverty is high - still lack access to energy, and electrification is barely keeping pace with population growth.

Limbe, a big coastal town in southwest Cameroon, runs on hydroelectricity provided by ENEO, the country's lone energy provider. But even residents connected to the grid can't rely on having electricity when they need it.

Prolonged droughts have caused a severe drop in the water levels of the Sanaga river, which feeds the area's hydropower plant, resulting in crippling power outages.

"We suffer from persistent blackouts  on a daily basis," said Motanga Andrew, the government delegate to the Limbe city council.

In Idenau and Batoke, two fishing villages about 12 kilometres from Limbe city, there are pretty beaches and vast tracts of unspoiled mangrove forests that bring in the tourists.

But, until recently, the communities couldn't access enough power to meet the most basic needs of running their businesses and health services.

The recent arrival of solar power, however, is already improving the lives, health experts say.

In 2015, a renewable-energy expert from Canada began using homemade wind turbines and solar panels to build a network of renewable energy electrical stations to supply power to homes and medical clinics in the area.

The networks are also used to charge motorcycle batteries, which residents take home to power their lights and charge their cell phones, which they can then use to conduct business and access health information.

Also last year, the African Resource Group Cameroon (ARG-CAM), in collaboration with the Limbe city council, built mini-electrical grids to provide light, cooking energy and phone-charging stations to the people of Limbe, Idenau, and Batoke.

According to the non-governmental group's director general, Edmond Linonge Njoh, the initiative, funded by the African Union's New Partnership for Africa's Development, aims to reduce the fishing communities' dependence on fuel wood and kerosene, both of which come with significant health risks.

"The coming of alternative and cheaper energy to our council area is a welcome relief," said the government delegate to Limbe.

In Idenau, storekeeper Njombe Ikome said the provision of solar energy to the community has changed the lives of people there.

"Our children can now do their homework at night and they are doing well in school," he said. "Idenau is a business community and so the use of cell phones for communication with business partners is very important."

According to Rose Agbor, assistant warden of the Idenau Health Centre, the facility used to help fewer than 15 pregnant women and nursing mothers each day.

Now, with solar energy providing a reliable electricity supply and the Gifted Mom platform raising awareness of the availability of prenatal care, the centre sees over 50 patients daily.

Reuters

 

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Elangwe Pauline

14.Apr.2016

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A prime ministerial decree today Tuesday 12.04.2016 has sacked Dissongo Jean II as Director of Laquintini Hospital. He has been replaced by Louis Richard Njock, former Director Edea annex hospital.

 

The dismissal of Dissongo comes excatly one month since a woman Mounique KOUMATEKE and her babies died under unclear circumstances.The case is seen as the last straw on the camels back,following series of scandals that have rocked the lanquintini hospital.

The government had been under pressure to dismiss the laquintini director following negligence on the part of hospital personnel.Hundreds had gathered on Sunday March 13 2016  infront of the hospital to demand justice to take its course.

Dissongo Jean II is the second director to suffer dismissal, the first was the director of the Mbanga district hospital, where a 26 year old lady died on April 1st with her unborn baby,due to negligence

 

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Prince Nfor Hanson

12.Apr.2016

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