Eric Tchana, Regional Project Manager in Adamaoua

“Getting them to have enough knowledge about CDBI

“This regional advocacy meeting in favour of the involvement of the Adamaoua CTDs was aimed at first of all bringing them to have sufficient knowledge on the ISDCs carried out in the community, because it has been done since then and now to arouse their adhesion,
their commitment to contribute precisely to the effective implementation of their involvement through either funding or the actual management of these activities in the community. The concern we have is that the gap is still huge, we need in terms of ratio for the coverage of the population areas by community health workers at least 600 CHWs. The Global Fund, through the involvement of Plan International Cameroon, which supervises 415 CHWs, Unicef 60. We have 475 for the Adamaoua region for a need of more than 1000. We need to go to those who should be supervising and it was found that it is the CTDs that will take over, some have already started to do so but with the effective decentralisation. They are the ones who will be the winners of the implementation of certain activities in the community, hence the need to go back to them and get their commitment. When we talk about three diseases, we are talking about tuberculosis, hiv and malaria. Besides these diseases, in the community there are other diseases such as neglected tropical diseases, diarrhoea, pregnant women who do not go to ANC.
There is a lot of work to be done in the community that is not limited to these three diseases. For the year 2022 alone, we diagnosed more than 5000 cases of malaria referred to the health facilities, just for the 4 health districts, Djofong, Ngaoundéré rural, Tibati and Tignère. If we extend these figures to the other health districts, you will see that there is a need for the involvement of actors who must accompany the actors, the CHWs. Health activities are supervised by the Ministry of Health. The government is already making a large contribution, and the development partners must also make their contributions. Within the framework of the ISDC, it is the global fund that subsidises by making a contribution. And Plan International Cameroon which is the direct implementing actor by paying the premiums that are allocated to the CHWs. There is a motivation that is done. The gap is still big.
Collected by J.B.M