Royal Victoria Clinic, Une solution de santé holistique.

"Nous couvrons toute la gamme des services médicaux"

-Professeur EGBE Philip Egbengu

Le professeur Egbengu, propriétaire de "Royal Victoria Clinic" à Bamenda, est chef du Département de Médecine et de Sciences Biomédicales de l'Université Catholique de Bamenda. Il est également Chef du Département d'Economie de la Santé et de Politique de Gestion. Il est aussi l'un de fondateurs de la Faculté de Médecine qu'ils avaient créée et avait finalement obtenu l'agrément du gouvernement de la République du Cameroun. Dans son entretien, le professeur a mis en lumière les mesures prises jusqu'à présent par "Royal Victoria Clinic" pour présenter un ensemble de solutions holistiques de santé permettant de prendre en charge tous les types de maladies. Le professeur Egbe commence par nous parler de son enfance, qui a eu un impact positif sur la personne qu'il est aujourd'hui.

Extraits

"J'ai fréquenté les écoles primaires et secondaires au Cameroun. Je me suis rendu au Nigéria où j'ai lu et obtenu de nombreuses certifications tels que MBBS, BSc, MSc, PhD, DPhEM; Cert. Rad Mgt. BLS; ACLS; CRM; CCS; CFS me permettant d'exercer la médecine au Cameroun. J'ai ouvert cette clinique à Douala. J'ai dû déménager la clinique de Douala pour m'installer à Bamenda, à l'endroit où vous nous trouvez aujourd'hui, Foncha Street ( Virgin Land), plus précisément dans la zone dénommée Loh Benson Avenue. Face aux défis associés à la crise qui a secoué la région du Nord Ouest, nous avons eu du mal à garder la tête hors de l'eau. Nous en sommes encore au stade du développement. Pour diriger un endroit comme celui-ci, il n'est pas nécessaire de le presser. Nous sommes achevés à environ 60% et, avant la fin de l’année, nous devrions avoir atteint le point de 100%.”

Quelle est la gamme spécifique de services offerts ici?

Nous offrons des consultations médicales générales sur des bases régulières et d'urgence. Cela signifie que si vous êtes malade la nuit, nous pourrions aussi nous occuper immédiatement de vous, ce qui constituerait une consultation d'urgence. Nous organisons également des consultations spécialisées où nous invitons des spécialistes connus autour de Bamenda qui travaillent avec nous. Nous couvrons toute la gamme des pratiques médicales. Nous faisons l'hospitalisation et je peux me vanter qu'à Bamenda nous n'avons pas de rival en termes d'hospitalisation. Nous avons un laboratoire solide qui couvre un large éventail de demandes de laboratoires. Nous nous intéressons également à l'imagerie diagnostique médicale, à savoir l'échographie, la radiographie et le reste. Dans peu de temps, nous devrions être complets à 100%. Nous pouvons fournir confortablement tous les services de santé requis par notre communauté et notre pays.

Quelle est votre opinion sur la situation sanitaire des Camerounais et dans quelle mesure pensez-vous que les structures de santé existantes s’occupent des choses?

En Afrique et au Cameroun en particulier, les problèmes de santé sont principalement des infections. 70% de la fréquentation de l'hôpital provient d'infections et les 30% restants sont des maladies non transmissibles telles que l'hypertension, le diabète, entre autres. Il existe une relation disproportionnée entre les personnes malades et les structures disponibles pour répondre à leurs besoins en matière de santé. La quantité d'installations disponibles vis-à-vis des maladies est très déséquilibrée. L'application des installations pose également un problème. Les gens tombent malades et ne savent pas où aller. Vous avez des patients qui viennent vous dire qu'ils ont visité de nombreux endroits pour résoudre leurs problèmes de santé. Cela ne devrait pas être le cas. Normalement, lorsqu'un patient rencontre un médecin, il devrait guérir. Cependant, il est possible pour un médecin de référer un patient à un spécialiste.

Beaucoup de gens sont intéressés à savoir de quelle manière vous allez ajouter quelque chose de nouveau à ce qui existe déjà dans vos activités.

La première chose à laquelle je me suis lancé lorsque j'ai ouvert cet hôpital a été de sensibiliser les patients à la nécessité d'une intervention médicale précoce. Lorsque vous vous présentez tôt à l'hôpital, vous éliminez le problème. Lorsque vous laissez votre situation dégénérer cela devient plus coûteux et plus compliqué. Les chances de survie sont réduites lorsque vous allez à l’hôpital en retard.

Ne pensez-vous pas qu’il existe un problème de chaîne d’approvisionnement au Cameroun?

Bien sûr, nos chaînes d'approvisionnement nous posent un problème, que ce soit du point de vue pharmaceutique ou du point de vue du laboratoire. Il est difficile d'obtenir des médicaments dans la Région du Nord-Ouest où je travaille maintenant. Je ne connais pas les autres régions du pays. Il est très difficile de se procurer de bons médicaments et quand vous en avez, ils coûtent cher. L’importation de médicaments au Cameroun entraîne de nombreuses complications, raison pour laquelle les médicaments coûtent très cher au Cameroun. La même chose arrive aux réactifs de laboratoire et parfois même avant leur arrivée ici, ils sont périmés.

Il y a le problème persistant et inquiétant des faux médicaments.

C’est un problème très grave et c’est pourquoi beaucoup d’entre nous qui exploitons des hôpitaux ont beaucoup plus recours aux injectables qu’aux comprimés. Cinquante pour cent de ce que vous voyez sur le marché n'est pas bon.

Vous collaborez certainement avec plusieurs experts de la pratique.

Je travaille avec un grand nombre de médecins à Bamenda. J'ai des grand médecins dans leurs divers domaines qui font des consultations ici. C’est pourquoi nous faisons tout ici; Gynécologie, Pédiatrie, Médecine Générale et tout le reste. Nous avons des spécialistes dans les différents domaines à Bamenda et nous en faisons pleinement usage. Dans notre laboratoire, nous n’utilisons pas uniquement des scientifiques de laboratoire, nous faisons également appel à des pathologistes qui sont des praticiens expérimentés non seulement de Bamenda, mais également d’autres villes comme Buea et Douala. Jusqu'ici, tout a été si bon et les gens ont deja beaucoup de confiance en nous et je pense que nous ne pouvons que nous améliorer, au fil des jours. Il existe toutefois un problème que je considère comme un problème général. Nous parlions de problèmes de chaîne d’approvisionnement au Cameroun. Les coûts supplémentaires engendrés par les intermédiaires sont supportés par les patients qui ont un pouvoir économique très faible. Les patients ne viennent parfois pas à l’hôpital à cause du coût très élevé des médicaments. La sur professionnalisation du secteur de la santé rend la tâche plus difficile pour les patients. Je vais vous donner un exemple. Un technicien de laboratoire ouvre un laboratoire où il effectue ses investigations. Un pharmacien fait la même chose. Pour compenser cela, nous avons mis à disposition toutes les installations disponibles ici. Dans les hôpitaux sans toutes ces installations, si un patient vient à l'hôpital et a besoin d'un test de laboratoire, il sera envoyé au laboratoire. Il revient avec les résultats dans deux ou trois jours et vous faites une ordonnance dans laquelle il doit aller chercher de l'argent pour acheter les médicaments. Pendant tout ce temps, le patient est malade. Nous avons vu des cas comme celui-ci où des personnes mouraient avant de se faire soigner. La chaîne d'approvisionnement doit être coupée court pour éliminer ces coûts supplémentaires. Nous devrions insister sur l'utilisation de médicaments génériques. Le gouvernement devrait sortir une liste de médicaments essentiels reconnue par l'OMS. Un médicament s'appelle générique car il utilise la molécule de base. Les compagnies pharmaceutiques produisent ces médicaments et leur donnent des noms de marque. Le médicament coûte dix fois plus cher. Nous devrions revenir à la liste des médicaments essentiels afin que l'homme de la rue puisse recouvrer la santé. Cette erreur de dire que les médicaments génériques ne fonctionnent pas devrait nous être immédiatement retirée de la tête.

Un message concis aux personnes ayant besoin de services de santé?

Quand tu es malade, tu devrais aller tôt à l'hôpital. Deuxièmement, le manque de fonds ne devrait pas être une raison pour ne pas aller à l'hôpital. Vous n’avez pas besoin d’argent pour venir dans cet hôpital. Vous pouvez toujours payer quand vous avez retrouvé votre santé. C’est juste un contrat de confiance entre le patient et l’Hôpital. La question de mettre de l'argent avant tout est très dangereuse. Beaucoup de nos maladies résultent aussi d'habitudes. Les Camerounais boivent beaucoup, mangent mal et se réservent très peu de temps pour dormir. Ces attitudes devraient être découragées.

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Royal Victoria Clinic’s Efforts to provide a Holistic Health Solution outfit.

“We cover the full range of Medical Practice”

-Professor EGBE Philip Egbengu

Professor Egbengu, Proprietor of the Royal Victoria Clinic in Bamenda is the Head of Department of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the Catholic University, Bamenda. He is also Head of the Department of Health Economics, Policy and Management. Before this, he was the Foundation Pro-host of the Medical School which they created and eventually had accreditation from the Government of the Republic of Cameroon. The learned Professor in this interview throws light on measures so far carried out by the Royal Victoria Clinic to present a Holistic Health Solution outfit where every type of illness can be taken care of on the spot. Professor Egbe begins by telling us about his early life which impacted positively on the person he is today. He was interviewed by Francis Ekongang Nzante.

Excerpts

"I went through Primary and Secondary School up to High School in Cameroon. I proceeded to Nigeria where I read and got the following: MBBS,BSc, PhD, DPhEM, Cert. Rad, Mgt, BLS, ACLS, CRM, CCS and CFS that qualify me to practice medicine in Cameroon. I started this Clinic in Douala and when I had to come to Bamenda to initiate the Medical School of the Catholic University I had to move the Clinic from Douala to Bamenda at the location where you find us today at Foncha Street, Virgin Land specifically at the area referred to as Loh Benson Avenue. Despite the challenges coupled with the crisis rocking the region, we have struggled to hold our heads above water level. We are still going through developmental stages. To run a place like this, you don't have to rush it. You go through it in stages. We are about 60% complete and before the year runs out we should have reached the 100% point."

What is the specific range of services offered here?

We offer General Medical consultations on Regular and Emergency Bases. This means that if you are sick at night we could also immediately take care of you and that would be Emergency Consultation. We also do Specialist Consultation where we invite known specialists around Bamenda who work with us. We cover the full range of Medical Practice. We do Hospitalization and I can boast that in Bamenda we don't have a rival in terms of Hospitalization Facilities. We have a strong Laboratory which covers a wide range of laboratory requests. We are also dabbling into Medical Diagnostic Imagery that is Ultrasound, Radiography and the rest. In a short while we should be a hundred percent complete. We can comfortably provide all health services required by our community and country. 

What is your take on the health situation of Cameroonians and how far do you think the existing health structures are taking care of things?

In Africa as a whole and Cameroon in particular, health problems are dominantly infections. 70% of Hospital attendance is from infections and the remaining 30% are Non-Communicable Diseases like Hypertension, Diabetes amongst others. There is a disproportionate relationship between the sick people on the one hand and the available facilities to take care of their health needs. The amount of available facilities vis-à-vis the illnesses are very unbalanced. The application of the facilities is also posing a problem. People get sick and they don’t know where to go to. You have patients who come to you saying that they’ve been to many places to get their health problems solved. It shouldn’t be the case. Normally when a patient meets a Doctor he should get well. However, there is the possibility for a Doctor to refer a patient to a specialist.

Many people are interested to know in what way you will inject something new into what already exists through your activities.

The first thing I embarked on when I started this hospital was to sensitize patients on the need for early medical intervention. When you go to the Hospital early, you nip the problem in the bud.  When you allow your situation to degenerate and you go to the Hospital when the illness is far gone, it becomes more expensive and complicated. Survival chances become reduced when you go to the hospital late. 

Don’t you think there is a problem of supply chain in Cameroon?

Of course we have a problem with our supply chains be it from the pharmaceutical point or from the laboratory point of view. It is difficult to get some medications around the Northwest Region where I work now. I don’t know about the other regions in the country. It is very difficult to procure good drugs and when you get the good drugs they are expensive. Importation of drugs into Cameroon has a lot of complications and overheads that’s why drugs are very expensive in Cameroon. The same thing happens to Laboratory reagents and sometimes even before they get here they are expired. 

There is the persistent and disturbing problem of fake drugs.

It is a very serious problem and that is why many of us running hospitals rely much more on injectable medicine than on oral medication. Fifty percent of the oral medication that you see in the market is nonsense. 

You certainly collaborate with a number of experts in the practice.

I have a wide range of Doctors I work with in Bamenda. I have Seniour Doctors in their various fields that do consultations here. That’s why we do everything here; Gynecology, Pediatrics, General Medicines and all the rest. We have specialists in the various fields in Bamenda and we make full use of them. In our laboratory we do not only make use of Laboratory Scientists but we also make use of Pathologists who are senior practitioners not only from Bamenda but from other towns like Buea and Douala. So far it has been so good and people have built a lot of confidence and I think we can only get better as days go by.

 There is however a problem that I have which I think is a general problem. We were talking about Supply Chain Problems in Cameroon. The additional costs that is brought in by middle men is born by patients who have a very low economic power. Patients don’t sometimes come to the hospital because of the very high cost of drugs. The over professionalization of the health Sector makes it more difficult for the patients. I will give you an example. A Laboratory Technician opens a Laboratory where he carries out his investigations. A Pharmacist does the same. To make up for these, we have made every facility available here. In hospitals without all these facilities if a patient comes to the hospital and is in need of a Laboratory Test he will be sent to the Lab. He comes back with the results in two or three days and you do a prescription which he has to go and look for money to buy the drugs. All this while, the patient is sick. We have seen cases like that where people die in the process of getting themselves treated. The supply chain has to be cut short to remove those over heads so that people can afford. We should insist on operating generic medications. The government should come out with an essential drug list acknowledged by the WHO. A medication is called generic because it uses the base molecule. Pharmaceutical Companies produce those medications and give them brand names and the medication becomes ten times more expensive. We should go back to the essential drug list so that health can be gotten by the man on the streets. That fallacy of saying that generic medications don’t work should be removed from our heads forthwith.

Any concise message to people needing health services?  

When you are sick, you should go early to the hospital. Secondly, lack of funds should not be a reason for you not to go to the hospital. You don’t need money to come to this hospital. You can always pay when you have your health back. It’s just a contract of trust between the patient and the Hospital. We have had a couple of people who come and we treat them and they only pay afterwards. The issue of putting money before everything is very dangerous. Many of our illnesses also come as a result of habits. Cameroonians drink a lot, eat poorly and reserve very little time for sleep. These attitudes are not pro-life and should be discouraged.

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Limbe Authorities Fight Over Key while Northwest and Southwest Burns

In the wake of the visit of Ni John Fru Ndi, National Chairman of Cameroon's Leading Opposition Party the Social Democratic Front SDF to the Southwest Region, tongues have wagged over the warm reception that was given to the SDF Party Boss by HRH John Manga Williams, Paramount Ruler Elect of the Chiefdom of "Victoria" now called Limbe.
During this visit, Chief John Manga Williams in a gesture that falls in line with the catchy phrase "Limbe, a town of friendship" that welcomes you as you enter the city handed a symbolic "key" as gift to Fru Ndi. The key among many other things meant that the visitor was always welcome to Limbe. The doors of the Kingdom were by this gesture open to Fru Ndi. This, taken for what it truly meant was a sign of respect and acknowledgement of what Fru Ndi had contributed to the democratic process in Cameroon as well as a recognition of the values he stood for.
With the raging Anglophone Crisis that is practically burning the two English Speaking Regions, the visitor had taken out time as a patriotic and National figure, to visit SONARA and sympathize with its GM and workers just like the Southwest Chiefs had done some hours earlier undisturbed.
The National Chairman left behind as he quit "the town of friendship", fuming Administrative and Traditional Authorities. What were they fuming about? You would think they were fuming over the present stalemate and lack of meaningful suggestions to solve the problems plaguing the two English Speaking Regions. No! The apparently busy councillors ,mayors and Traditional rulers had time to sit and reprimand a Natural Ruler for choosing to give a key to a Royal guest. They argued over a key and even ordered a Natural Leader to apologise.
-Ignoring the present National shift towards encouraging " Le Vivre Ensemble".
Any Cameroonian who truly loves the country should certainly know that the notion of "vivre ensemble" which means living together is a principle that is presently being encouragement even from the office of the highest authority in the country. How can this inconsistency from apparently intelligent Cameroonians forge a way forward for Cameroon? Who are they struggling to please? If the painstakingly written and signed communiqué is to show the Head of State that they are loyal CPDM lackeys then they missed the point. That "modus operandi" is outdated. President Paul Biya is presently too preoccupied with important issues to notice that drama.
-A complete disrespect for the Kingdom of Victoria.
The most basic knowledge of anthropology shows that Natural leadership has a stronger influence on the people than Administrative Authority albeit the apparently strong administrative authority in Cameroon. It is not unknown to anyone who cares to know that a Natural ruler worth the salt is not ordered around by anyone talk less by somebody who is not of the same ethnic group. Blasphemous! The power of natural leaders should be protected by them working together rather than playing the roles of lackeys to administration. This was seen during the build up to the May 20th celebration. Traditional Leaders must have some degree of self-esteem. Asking your fellow natural ruler to apologise is a demonstration of the fact that you don't even know the worth of the sacred stool on which you sit. You don't know that you represent not only a people, but traditions that have lasted for hundreds of years.
Chasing Shadows and leaving real issues on the sidelines provides no solutions.
The story of the key is like the story of two hunters who argued over the distribution of the parts of an antelope even before the animal was killed. While arguing they failed to notice that another hunter had killed the antelope. They lost everything.
Reacting to the drama that took place after he left Limbe, the Chairman said this was the third time he was receiving such a gift. He said some years back during a visit to the USA two cities presented gifts to him practically making him a citizen of their cities.  He said he was bemused when he heard about what was going on in Limbe because of the key that HRH John Manga Williams gave to him. He said he never expected such a thing to happen in his own country.

Chief Henry Fonderson President of Limbe Chiefs Conference has insisted that The Paramount Chief elect was not yet qualified to carry out such a gesture because he had not yet been fully recognized by government authorities.

Meantime Mola Thomas Likiye Otto of the Socia Democratic Front  in Limbe has reacted to the squabble over the key in the following manner:

The Chairman was very honored to receive the Keys to the Chiefdom of Limbe from HRH Johny Manga Williams the Paramount Ruler of Limbe. As the Chairman always says he is a “ colanut eater" for those who don’t know colanut eaters are respecters of tradition and there was no way he could visit the great city of Limbe without honouring the charismatic traditional ruler of a city that for centuries has practiced and preached the culture of living together.

However if a few municipal councillors and their executives feel they have another set of Keys that they would like to present to the Chairman they are free to make a proposal and we would evaluate it and give them an appropriate response. For now we are very happy with the one we have. In the future we would collect more keys, not from those who signed the hate filled communique but from the great people of Limbe.

Finally we would like to add that it was very embarrassing to see the Calibre of people who put their signatures on that communique but understanding very well the politics of the city and observing the name[s] we did not see, we know very well the devil is in the details. To conclude we encourage all to lead by example and in the true spirit of the city of Limbe to solve problems in-house in a family setting befitting of the great city you all represent."
A school of taught believes that the detractors of HRH John Manga Williams are at work with an intention of presenting him in a negative stance. Those of this line of taught question the reason behind making so much noise over a very little issue. The authorities know that HRH John Elufa Manga Williams is yet to be endorsed by government but is that what makes a true traditional ruler? Is the issue of not being qualified to give a key more important than the beauty behind the gesture. Is it more important than "Le vivre ensemble" propergated by the Biya Regime that encourages a rapprochement between Cameroonians from different parts of the country? Is it a solid enough reason to distract people from major problems plaguing the state? Chasing Shadows.

Belo Council puts in place Strategies to continue with Development projects

Tefu Emmanuel, Lord Mayor of Belo Council has insisted that despite the unfavourable conditions for the implementation of projects at the moment the council under his guidance was poised to put in place the most feasible approach to guarantee the continuity of development initiatives. Lord Mayor Tefu Emmanuel also disclosed that despite the multiplicity of things to be handled, the Council was putting in place a strategy to handle the increasing problems of Internally Displaced People from his Subdivision. He further said the present crisis rocking the two English Speaking Regions of the country had not helped matters. He made this declaration recently in an interview accorded "Le Gideon" Newspaper recently in Bamenda.
He intimated that the Council he recently took over, had a lot of ear marked projects yet to be completed. "We hope that things will quickly return to normal so that we can continue from where the former mayor stopped" he said adding that working  now at home was a herculean task.
The mayor further intimated that the main challenges being faced at the moment included working on projects to meet up with the aspirations of people in Bello. "We are still studying the situation and trying to sort out possibilities of continuing with our projects. Nothing could be done in 2018 and we want to make sure that we forge ahead with our projects in 2019," he explained.
Lord Mayor Tefu Emmanuel further explained that there was actually no life in Bello at the moment especially for those who were operating petit businesses and stores. He however said when you left Bello, the center of the municipality and moved into the villages you could find some activities but that in the heart of the municipality no activities were really going on.
The mode of operation the mayor said was that of team work. Hear him; "Our mode of operation has always been that of collective team work. During campaigns I promised my people that my style of work would be the team work approach. I work with council staff as one just like I work with the people as one."
Mayor Tefu Emmanuel said there was the persistent problem of increasing numbers of Internally Displaced People from the municipality. He said though the Council had been doing something in that direction, the problem still persisted and that he would continue to reach out to IDPs in the Subdivision. "Last time when I went to Yaounde, I noticed that there were about a thousand IDPs from the municipallity and that something had to be done and that we should do something there as a team. In Bamenda there are very many IDPs and  I am looking forward to doing something about this in the days ahead" he intimated.
Talking about council activities, he said they carried out all activities on the council premises albeit security challenges.
"The only thing I plead for is that authorities should do everything possible to make sure that things return to normalcy so as to permit us continue with the development of our municipality."

Separatists, Armed Gangs, Marauding Soldiers make Bui inhabitable

-Countless youths fleeing "Scotch Earth" operations!

Bui Division like many other  Divisions in the restive Northwest and Southwest Regions of Cameroon has been amongst the most hard hit Divisions since the Anglophone Crisis set in some three years ago. Separatist or Restoration forces were created with the support of Separatist activists in the Diaspora and information so far published over the years indicates that the creation of the Ambazonian Defense Force ADF transformed the Anglophone struggle into an armed struggle. Just like in other Divisions, a faction of these fighters sprouted in Bui.
This group which has gradually grown to be referred generally as "Ambazionian Fighters" wield considerable influence in Bui Division and has greatly influenced the pace of human activities in the Division.
With the decision of the Yaounde regime to completely stamp out the " Amba boys" and any other dissenting group, there was a corresponding deployment of contingents of the Cameroon Regular Army in the area. The resultant skirmishes led to a lot of blood shed especially among youngsters who for most of the time are not usually connected with the battle.
An added ingredient has been the fact that armed groups which are not necessarily "Ambazonian Fighters" have joined the dance. They have profited from the anarchy to meet up with the personal agendas which include organised crime through kidnapings and the demand of ransoms, settling of scores amongst other things completely unrelated to the initial reasons behind the armed conflict.They are generally referred to as " Fake Ambas."
The Anglophone Crisis has as such divided tribal communities and destroyed huge royal households like the Nso Palace historically one of the most important in Cameroon.
The regime in Yaounde makes use of a lot of Intelligence information using people from within the community as sources. When such informants are made known to the local population which is dominantly against the regular army, they are given the treatment of mob justice and their houses and property burnt.
On the other hand, if progovernment informants identify a family or member of any family to be collaborating with Separatist Forces like the ADF or any other group, it becomes absolutely necessary to quit the stage while you can that is if your family is spotted by intelligence force to harbour any sentiment or to collaborate with Separatists or terrorists as they have come to be referred to by the Biya regime.
This background provides all the necessary ingredients for total anarchy irrespective of the perspective from which you look at it. If you are an identified enemy of any of the above groups then you are as good as dead in Bui Division. If you are identified as an enemy of the state due to secessionist activism then its exceptionally dangerous. You simply go under ground or flee.
The regime according to declarations made during the last Senate Session in March is making use of what is referred to as the Scotch Earth Policy which has sent many fleeing from their home and country.
In Kumbo, one of the oldest Royal Dynasties in Cameroon, the Nso Kingdom was quasi destroyed by gangs alleged to be "Amba boys". Investigations have so far shown that groups involved in this attack on the Royal Family fall in the category of armed groups prepared to go to any length to eliminate the royal family. The Fon of Nso HRH Sehm Mbinglo III barely escaped from Kumbo with his life. Meantime his son, the Prince was brutally murdered by armed men yet to be fully identified.
In Noni still in Bui Division the Scotch Earth Policy by the regular Cameroon Army has been on course. Speaking recently in an interview with this reporter, the SDF Senator Kinyang George who hails from Bui and specifically from Noni said the killings and burning of property in Bui was dominantly carried out by the Cameroonian Army.Kumbo, the Capital of the Division is now quasi deserted with almost every member of the Royal family having fled abroad.
Another SDF Senator Kemende speaking during the Senate Session said Noni was one of those places where regular troops were implementing the Scotch Earth Policy. Among other gory examples, the senator explains how victims were told to dig their own graves before eventually being shot and buried in them. These victims are dominantly being identified through intelligence information sources.
Many youths in Noni who's families have been identified siding with Separatists have been victimised. They have been killed and family houses in some cases burnt. There is the case of youngsters like Ndikaka Anthony Soge, Lontum Dieudonne, Tan Kesitor Mangew among others whom this reporter could not ascertain their identity who have been identified to be linked with Separatists. Their whereabouts are presently not known but they are suspected to be on the run if still alive.
Bui Division has been therefore turned upside down and it is a case of survival of the fittest. The three groups mentioned above call the shots and unconfirmed reports state that some of the groups referred to as "fake Amba" are actually militia groups sponsored by the Yaounde regime. In this confusion and insecurity, youths have been escaping to seek safer abodes out of the country under precarious conditions.

Plan International, Cameroon Educates Media Partners on its Child Safeguarding Policy

Against a backdrop of the crisis presently affecting the Northwest and Southwest Regions of  Cameroon, Plan International Cameroon just rounded up a two day worship in Bamenda with the sole objective of educating its Media Partners on its child safeguarding policy and related themes. This two day workshop took place in Bamenda at Blue Pearl Hotel from the 10th to the 11th of May 2019.

This workshop permitted media partners to first of all know what Plan International was all about. This activity which was coordinated by Tah Hedley, Communication and Media Coordinator for Plan International, Cameroon furnished the Media Practioners with all necessary information to permit them have a comprehensive grasp of what Plan International was all about. From the initial step in 1937 during the Spanish Civil War with the modest beginning by John Langdon Davis, a British War Journalist and Eric Muggeridge, a refugee worker, Plan International has grown to become a major player in the domain of child safeguarding. Today, Plan international is in 76 countries and in 26 African countries including Cameroon. In 2018, Plan International reached out to 18.1 million girls and 16.1 million boys across the world.
Now 18 years old in Cameroon, Plan International's ambition is to reach a global figure of 100 million children including 2 million in Cameroon by 2020.
With the crisis raging on in the Northwest and Southwest Regions of Cameroon, the movement of Internally Displaced People has mostly been towards the West Region and the Littoral Regions. Plan International Cameroon's Emergency Response in these neighbouring Regions is a matter of urgency. These regions due to the heavy presence of displaced people a reasonable percentage of them being children, Plan International Cameroon is without doubt including these regions in its Emergency Response program.
Key activities on day one included : Plan International's Child Protection Policy & Child Safeguarding, reflecting together on children's rights within a crisis context and most importantly from the perspective of media practioners Humanitarian Reporting.
In the domain of Humanitarian Reporting, a close look was taken at the importance of information in crisis. Cognizant of the importance of information in crisis and the importance of journalist in serving as the link between those with the means to help those in need, the vital role of journalists became more visible.
In order for media partners to effectively carry out this important role, they were further drilled on Plan International's Brand Characteristics. The media men and women were then schooled through Media policies or Editorial Policies which saw them touching on details such as Conducting interviews, Photographing or filming and the use of images.
An added quality to the workshop were the practical sessions coordinated by the Communication and Media Coordinator, Tah Hedley. Participants were divided into groups to maximize the benefits of these practice sessions.
Briefly speaking, attention was drawn to the fact that a media partner should never loose sight of the fact that everything had to be oriented towards protecting the survivors. In order for media partners to usefully pave a way forward working together to support the humanitarian response they were briefed on responsible reporting taking into consideration certain expectations of Plan International Cameroon.
Other Resource Persons at the workshop included Deputy Emergency Response Manager Emmanuela Nting Songbi, the Security Coordinator amongst others. Media Practioners in the region graced the occasion with their presence and active participation.

Public Outcry against Genocidal Utterances in Cameroon!

CPDM MP Succumbs in Public Apology to Anglophones

By Francis Ekongang Nzante

Essomba Bengono Engelbert CPDM Alternate Member of Parliament for Mefou and Akono Division has apologised for utterances he made on Anglophone Cameroonians on TV last week. This apology which was published on his face book page comes in the wake of an increasing condemnation of utterances that he made on Equinox Television considered in some quarters as genocidal in tone.
Several reactions had followed the statements made by Bengono Essomba. This CPDM bigwig in his statements trivialized the death of Anglophones hostile to the Paul Biya Regime.
."1850 deaths on 25 million Cameroonians, it is not serious yet," he said during his visit to the TV channel. These words automatically aroused reactions to his detriment.

Reacting to Essomba Bengono's utterances on Equinox TV Akere Muna, Legal luminary and one of the opposition candidates for last year's Presidential Elections wrote to the Honorable Cavaye Yeguié Djibril, President of the National Assembly of Cameroon.

He classified the utterances made by Honourable Essomba Bengono Engelbert, an Alternate Member of Parliament as Genocide Statements.
These statements were made during a program "Equinox Soir."
These utterances which Akere Muna described as genocidal compared populations of the Northwest and Southwest Regions to the Biblical Sodom and Gomora that needed to be wiped off as a matter of necessity.

: "..you know how many times God the creator had to shave the human species to constitute a people? You know how many times? The number of covenants that God made with men?" he said, I am shaving Sodom and Gomorah."

Among the things Bengono considered more important which should preoccupy  Cameroonians at the moment were reflecting on the dialogue proposed by the President of the Republic and the peace offensive of the Prime Minister, Chief Dr. Dion Ngute. These issues were considered more important than 1850 lives so far lost in the Northwest and Southwest Regions.

Such a statement from an elected representative of the people far from being a distraction had the potential to discredit any discourse on peace and dialogue promoted by the political party to which it belongs.
Akere Muna said he was waiting to see the reaction of Church leaders when the Bible is used to compare Cameroonian citizens, inhabitants of North-West and South-West to those of Sodom and Gomorrah exterminated. Recalling that Anglophones in the past had been referred to as "dogs," "rats," he also recalled that "we even followed an important press boss to say no to the dialogue and to plead for the closure of all the relief and first aid facilities in the North-West and South-West and the establishment of a punch operation to put an end to the crisis."

The Hon. ESSOMBA BENGONO ENGELBERT Akere Muna emphasised said that it was not necessary to count the number of deaths, but that one should be concerned only with Cameroonians alive. Appealing to the recipient of his letter he put it as follows "Mr President, a dead Cameroonian is one more death....life is a gift from God and to deny its importance is to deny the existence of our Almighty Creator. I hope that the speed with which you have reacted to the European Parliament's Resolution will be duplicated in the initiative you will take urgently to put an end to the speeches of the people who fan the flames of division, hatred and sow the seeds of genocide."
Meantime, Essomba Bengono Engelbert has in his apology written thus; "Dear Brothers, I sincerely apologise for my declarations on Equinox TV on the 13th of May 2019 about the victims of the armed conflict that is prevailing in your villages and towns since the crisis started there. A situation that has caused the deaths of civilians and Republican Soldiers. May the souls of the killed persons rest in perfect peace.
Wherever you are from, Boyo, Bui, Donga Mantung, Menchum, Mezam, Mono, Ngoketuna, Fako, Kupe Manengouba, Lebialem, Manyu, Meme or Indian....I do sincerely beg for your pardon. I deeply regret and I pray the Almighty God to help us to definitely solve this bad situation.."