Public hospitals: The Ministry of Health announces the contracting of 3,000 health personnel

The Minister of Public Health, Manaouda Malachie, announced the contracting of 3,000 health personnel during the launch of the budget of his ministerial department and the installation ceremony of Dr. BITANG A MAFOCK Louis Joss as the new inspector general of medical and paramedical services, this January 30, 2025 in Yaoundé.

Minister of Public Health, Manaouda Malachie

This announcement was welcomed with interest by health unions, who have long called for the regularization of the situation of precarious staff in public hospitals. According to Sylvain Nga Onanas, president of the National Union of Staff of Health Sector Establishments/Companies in Cameroon (Cap/Santé), “the minister, during the launch of the budget of the Ministry of Health, promised the contractualization of 3,000 staff. You ask me what we think of this, but it is a paradox.

Indeed, the information available to the union indicates that the Head of State has instructed the contractualization of 9,944 health personnel over a period of 5 years. In addition to these 9,944 personnel, there is a special recruitment over 3 years of 3,000 health personnel, which is linked to the creation of the Regional Hospital Centers (CHR). “Thus, if we add the 9,944 and the 3,000 personnel, we obtain a total of 12,944, or nearly 13,000 personnel,” explains Sylvain Nga Onanas. “We are satisfied with this announcement, but we are eagerly awaiting the effective implementation of this decision,” declares Sylvain Nga Onanas. “We will continue to closely monitor this issue and demand the regularization of the situation of all precarious personnel,” he adds.

According to him, this represents about half of the 27,000 precarious staff working in public hospitals. “We can consider that this is not bad, but more will have to be done to solve this problem,” he adds. Indeed, precarious staff have long demanded their regularization, in order to benefit from decent working conditions and decent salaries. The situation of precarious staff in public hospitals is a recurring problem in Cameroon.

It is important to note that on March 26, 2022, at the Bangou cultural center in Yaoundé, Sylvain Nga Onanas, president of the National Union of Staff of Health Sector Establishments/Companies in Cameroon (Cap/Santé), declared that 27,000 temporary workers have been working without pay for almost 10 years in public hospitals.

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According to the unions, these staff are often underpaid and work in difficult conditions, without receiving the same benefits as permanent staff. The contractualization of 3,000 health workers is an important decision, which should improve the working conditions and salaries of these staff. However, more must be done to resolve the problem of precarious staff in public hospitals. Health unions will continue to fight for the rights of these staff and to improve working conditions in public hospitals.

Elvis Serge NSAA