Life

HIV/AIDS: Yaoundé launches nationwide survey to determine prevalence

1, August 2024

HIV/AIDS: Yaoundé launches nationwide survey to determine prevalence 0

The Minister of Public Health Manaouda Malachie on Wednesday unveiled a nationwide survey to ascertain the prevalence of HIV/AIDS and the impact of preventive measures in the country.

The survey, dubbed Cameroon Population-based HIV Impact Assessment (CAMPHIA), will run from August to February 2025.

“It aims to comprehensively explore the situation of HIV infection within the population aged 15 and over based on a nationally representative sample. The primary objective of CAMPHIA 2024 is to estimate the national and regional prevalence of HIV viral suppression, while the secondary objectives are to estimate the incidence and prevalence of HIV at the national level,” Manaouda said in a statement made public Wednesday afternoon.

It is one of the largest surveys to assess HIV prevalence in the Central African nation and would aid in implementing new measures to further prevent its spread.

“Nationally, the survey will cover 512 enumeration areas from which 15,360 households will be randomly selected, for a total of approximately 28,405 people,” Manaouda added.

The first HIV survey was conducted in the country in 2017.

According to data published by the World Health Organization in 2023, Cameroon witnessed a 50 percent decrease in HIV prevalence among people aged 15 to 64 in the past 14 years.

Source: Xinhuanet

Archbishop Nkea says Catholic teachers should “hand over a culture of peace”

23, July 2024

Archbishop Nkea says Catholic teachers should “hand over a culture of peace” 0

Catholic teachers have to be peace ambassadors, imparting a culture of peace to learners, Archbishop Andrew Fuanya Nkea of Cameroon’s Catholic Archdiocese of Bamenda has said.

In his homily during the annual celebration of Teachers Day in his Metropolitan See, Archbishop Nkea urged Catholic teachers to exercise their profession, which he said is characterized by dignity, with commitment.

“The vocation you have answered to be a teacher is a very noble one. It is a profession that has dignity,” he said during the July 20 celebration that was held at St. Joseph Cathedral of Bamenda Archdiocese.

The Cameroonian Catholic Archbishop added, “The dignity of this vocation lies in the fact that  you take responsibility to do what God does; impart knowledge to others and we know that God, who has called you will not abandon you. He will continue to protect you, especially from the violence that we have in our society.”

“That is why I ask all of you to be pro-peace and to hand over a culture of peace to the children whom you teach,” the Archbishop of Bamenda who doubles as the President of the National Episcopal Conference of Cameroon (NECC) said.

He told the Catholic teachers to “see every child sitting in your classroom as your own biological child.”

“You are transmitters of knowledge and therefore transmitters of truth. You are not going to give your own ideas or what you think. You are going to transmit what is true,” he emphasized.

He also underlined the need to foster moral aptitude, saying, “You are transmitters of the doctrine of our church because our schools remain agents of evangelization. You are transmitters of the moral values of the church which are summarized in the 10 Commandments.”

The 58-year-old Catholic Archbishop, who started his Episcopal Ministry in August 2013 as the Coadjutor Bishop of Cameroon’s Mamfe Diocese called upon the Catholic teachers to find fulfilment in their profession and interaction with learners.

“Be happy, joyful, and proud teachers. Be teachers with dignity,” he said.

Archbishop Nkea added, “Let the poverty you have be known only to your pockets. The more you thank God for what he has done, the more God multiplies what you are. The value of what you do can never ever be quantified or calculated in monetary terms.”

He encouraged the Catholic teachers to be sources of inspiration. When people get to see you, he said, let them be “hungry to be Catholic teachers.”

Source: aciafrica

France: US rapper Snoop Dogg to carry Olympic torch

23, July 2024

France: US rapper Snoop Dogg to carry Olympic torch 0

American rapper Snoop Dogg will carry the Olympic flame through Saint-Denis this Friday, marking a significant moment before the Paris Games’ opening ceremony. Joining him are French actress Laetitia Casta, French rapper MC Solaar, and retired Ukrainian pole-vaulter Sergey Bubka.

American rapper Snoop Dogg will be among the carriers of the Olympic flame this Friday as it makes its final rounds before the Paris Games’ opening ceremony.

He will carry it through the streets of Saint-Denis, the ethnically diverse northern Paris suburb that is home to the Olympic Stadium and Aquatics Centre, the town’s mayor Mathieu Hanotin told AFP on Monday.

Other carriers in Saint-Denis Friday will include French actress Laetitia Casta, French rapper MC Solaar and Ukrainian retired pole-vaulter Sergey Bubka.

The Olympic flame has spent two months crossing France, and Friday morning it will be carried through the athletes’ village which straddles Saint-Denis and neighbouring Saint-Ouen, before going to the Olympic Stadium and the Aquatics Centre a few kilometres away.

Snoop Dogg, 52, was born in greater Los Angeles, which will host the next Games in 2028.

The torch relay will not be the rapper’s only appearance at the 2024 Games as he will also be an Olympic commentator for US television station NBC.

Source: AFP

Yaoundé reintroduces measures to curb COVID-19 resurgence

28, June 2024

Yaoundé reintroduces measures to curb COVID-19 resurgence 0

The Cameroonian government announced on Wednesday the adoption of measures to caution the country from the resurgence of Covid-19 cases, observed in some European, Middle Eastern, and African countries.

According to a statement from the Cameroonian Minister of Health, all travelers arriving from foreign countries shall be required to systematically fill out identification forms at airports.

Testing is being reintroduced at airports, but it is currently prioritized for travelers returning from the pilgrimage to Mecca.

Measures that were previously implemented at the peak of COVID-19 infections are being reinstated, including wearing masks in case of flu-like symptoms, hand hygiene, and regular disinfection of common areas.

Finally, the government states that it has the necessary capacity to detect cases and provide free care throughout the territory.

The first Covid-19 case was recorded in Cameroon in March 2020. According to the Ministry of Public Health, this pandemic has caused the death of 1,974 people out of a total of more than 120,000 infections in the country.

Source: Africa News

Fibroid: Ignorance is not bliss!

27, June 2024

Fibroid: Ignorance is not bliss! 0

Women around the world face many health challenges, especially after a certain age. When young, most girls hardly think that the health challenges their mothers and aunties have faced could one day visit them.

Why do they think so? Maybe youthfulness! As most us do understand, youthfulness is beautiful but it could be marked by stupidity too, except if guided through life by adults or if the young people are willing to listen. 

Learning through one’s experience could be challenging and learning the hard way in an environment without the proper social support system could be disheartening, especially in the event of a serious health issues.

One of those challenging health issue stalking young women these days is a fibroid growth which could spell mental and psychological destabilization.

I found out that I had fibroids when I went to the hospital where I was advised by a medical doctor to undergo an ultrasound scan.

Strangely, what took me to the hospital on that fateful day was not fibroid but constipation which has been blighting my life for some time.

I had been experiencing constipation for some days until I went to the hospital for consultation. I had to rid myself of this discomfort which had kept unhappy.

After a thorough examination by a doctor, I was advised that subjecting myself to an ultrasound could help the doctor to gain a better understanding of what was ailing me.  Thanks to the scans, I found out that I had multiple myomas (fibroid), which measured 14.5cm and 5cm. This was indeed bad news and it was really devastating.

My stomach had bulged but I did not pay much attention because I assumed that it was a result of weight gain. I took the ultrasound results back to the doctor who advised that I saw the gynaecologist.

The gynaecologist examined me and said there was no treatment for that other than surgery (myomectomy). I later went back home and did some research on fibroids. After connecting the dots, I concluded that the fibroids were the cause of the symptoms I was experiencing.

The symptoms were irregular menstrual periods, heavy flow, abdominal pain and excruciating menstrual cramps. The thought of surgery terrified me, but that was the only solution that could bring the much-needed relief.

After days of contemplation, I decided to go in for the surgery. I was scared but I knew only a surgery could provide a long-lasting solution. The procedure lasted for about three hours and it was done under anesthesia.

Recovery was characterized by bleeding, convulsion, fever and headaches. After about five weeks, I knew I was on the right path to recovery. By the eighth week,  I was fully recovered  and the psychological discomfort was gone.

After surgery, all the symptoms I experienced were gone. No irregular mentrual periods or cramps.

I know a majority of women fear stigmas when seeking help with their reproductive health, but conditions like fibroids, endometriosis and PCOS are not caused by witchcraft, neither are they related to living a promiscuous life.

Women, especially young women, should feel free to discuss their health issues and doubts with their healthcare workers if they want to gain much knowledge about their bodies.

They should open up to women who have much experience and they should understand that most health issues will find solutions in health facilities and not in shrines and churches.

Challenges are normal in life. Some could be addressed very fast while some could take a long time to be addressed. If faced with health challenges which could take a long time, it is better to stick with the hospitals and, sometimes, it is advisable to seek a second opinion to be very sure of the type of health issue that is blighting our lives.

Witchcraft is, in many cases, a figment of our imagination and it is driven by ignorance. Since many women especially those in the rural areas are not very informed about their bodies, it is easy for them to blame their unfortunate health situation on witchcraft which in many cases beclouds our thinking.

Women should understand that ignorance is costly. If they do not go to the hospital early enough for timely diagnoses, a small health issue could develop into a major problem.

Ignorance should never be bliss! Ignorance kills and it entrenches our mistaken belief in witchcraft. Knowledge is power and women must understand that today, knowledge is just a click away and when they obtain such knowledge, they should share it with their friends and families which is a sure way of rolling back ignorance and disease.

By Cecilia M. Manjang

Rapper Julio Foolio shot dead in Florida

24, June 2024

Rapper Julio Foolio shot dead in Florida 0

Florida rapper Julio Foolio has been killed in a shooting in Tampa, his lawyer says.

Police said four people were hit with gunfire in a hotel car park early on Sunday. One person died, whom they believed to be Foolio pending a medical examination.

The 26-year-old victim, whose legal name was Charles Jones, was identified in a statement by a law firm that represented him.

Foolio had been celebrating his birthday when the incident occurred, said the lawyer, Lewis Fusco.

The musician was “reportedly ambushed” in the hotel car park, Mr Fusco said in a statement, quoted by a local affiliate of the BBC’s US partner, CBS News.

He had been forced to relocate after being asked by authorities to leave an Airbnb property when he and his guests exceeded occupancy limits.

The rapper had been posting material to his Instagram account about the celebrations, writing that police had “shut us down”.

Two cars were hit in the shooting that took place at about 04:40 EDT (09:40 BST), police said. The three others who were injured were taken to hospital, where their condition was described as stable.

Foolio has nearly a million monthly listeners on Spotify, where his top-played track is Voo Doo.

As recently as April, he wrote in an Instagram post that recent months had been “tragic”, citing “multiple attempts on my life”.

He is said to have been open about his gang affiliations, according to local media.

Police have urged the public to provide any information that may help them with their investigation.

Source: BBC

Malian singer Rokia Traore detained in Italy over child custody case

23, June 2024

Malian singer Rokia Traore detained in Italy over child custody case 0

Malian singer Rokia Traore has been arrested in Italy over an outstanding two-year prison sentence in Belgium handed down in a child custody dispute, prosectors in Brussels said Sunday. 

The singer and guitarist was sentenced in absentia in October on charges of parental abduction, after fleeing France in 2020 when she was due to be handed over to Belgian authorities.

Italian media reported that the award-winning musician was arrested at Fiumicino airport in Rome on Friday after she flew into the country for a concert.

A spokesperson for the airport told AFP that border police had confirmed her arrest. There was no official confirmation from the Italian authorities.

Prosecutors in Brussels told AFP that “Ms Traore’s arrest in Italy follows a decision by the Brussels Criminal Court on October 18, 2023, which sentenced her in absentia to two years imprisonment for failing to hand over a child to the person entitled to custody”.

Traore had been arrested in Paris in March 2020 on a European arrest warrant over a Belgian court ruling ordering her to return her daughter, now aged nine, to the child’s Belgian father. 

She later defied a ban on leaving France and flew home to Mali several months later, before she could be sent to Belgium.

A lawyer for the child’s father said he had not had any contact with his daughter, who lives in Mali, since she turned four.

The lawyer said the father had offered to draw up a new custody agreement with Traore, validated by Malian and Belgian courts, to “find a way out of this nightmare and guarantee their child a future with two parents”.

Beyond her feted music career, Traore is also known for her advocacy work for refugees, and was made a UN ambassador for refugees in 2015.

Source: AFP

Manyu Traditional Rulers Association and Mgbe: Wisdom and Knowledge of Jurisdiction is Fundamental

7, May 2024

Manyu Traditional Rulers Association and Mgbe: Wisdom and Knowledge of Jurisdiction is Fundamental 0

For over 550 years, Manyu has existed in what is now the Southwest region of the State of Cameroon. As centuries have passed, challenges and even deadly wars have visited the Manyu people but their strong cultural institutions have been fundamental to their survival and progress. The principal institution that has held the Manyu nation together is Mgbe. Mgbe has always been responsible for maintaining the well-being of all in Manyu and for centuries, it has been involved in running Manyu villages socially, politically, and judicially.

On the 16th of April 2024, the most disgraceful scenes ever recorded in Mgbe were witnessed in Nchang village, Manyu Division. Videos are viral in which members of Mgbe Echokoh Nchang, headed by Sessekou Ebai Ayuknso and members of Mgbe Echokoh of Membanoka Lodge were engaged in fist-fighting. This is an act of unacceptable cultural sacrilege. Manyu Mgbe Supreme Council acted swiftly and listened to the perpetrators of this scandalous act. On the 24th of April 2024, the Supreme Council passed judgment with fines for the guilty party, Sessekou Ebai Ayuknso and his Mgbe Nchang Echokoh Lodge.

Since that judgment was pronounced and fines communicated, the guilty party has taken the matter to the Manyu Traditional Rulers Association (MATRA) to register their objection and signalled an intention to appeal. MATRA has now called for an extraordinary meeting on the 8th of May 2024 in Okoyong village to offer an opinion on the judgment of the Manyu Mgbe Supreme Council. This is unprecedented, unconventional and worrying. Scores of Mgbe members and Sessekous in the UK, Continental Europe and North America have over the last few days registered their worry at this ill-advised move from MATRA.

Disturbed by what happened in Nchang, and keen to look like hard rulers, MATRA risks damaging themselves and their authority now and in the long term. It seems wishful thinking for MATRA to believe that they could somehow intervene and solve this matter by annulling or challenging the decision of the Supreme Council. Any action from MATRA at this juncture will invite a tsunami of disdain, disgust and disrespect for that organisation. Nfor Mbi Oruh of Nkpot, Nfor Orock John Mbi of Okoyong and Nfor Orock Ferdinand of Egebekaw and many traditional rulers in Manyu were not members of Mgbe when they were selected by their villages to be chiefs. They subsequently joined Mgbe for…(left blank intentionally). It is evident that Mgbe is the Supreme authority and its matters cannot be adjudicated by MATRA.

The intention of MATRA to create an appeals procedure to question the authority of Mgbe is reckless as only Mgbe has the authority to amend its decisions. Sessekou Ebai Ayuknso and his Lodge know what to do. Mgbe is not subject to political and village authorities’ impulses, wishes and opinions. That is why the police and gendarmes called to the scene in Nchang asked Mgbe to deal with the matter.

Manyu is telling MATRA loudly and clearly that their impending attempt to undermine the authority of Mgbe is equivalent to walking on broken bottles. Nowhere has that message been more deafening than in the Manyu Community in the US, UK and across Europe where the matter is being discussed at every MECA meeting, village association, wake, birthday party and Mgbe session. These discussions are tremblings saying an earthquake is coming to MATRA if it attempts to intervene with 550 years of cultural precedence.

Manyus, at home and in the diaspora are extremely livid with the cultural disgrace and thuggish behaviour displayed in Nchang village on the 16th of April 2024. MATRA must remain wise and not overstep their authority. This is a message of caution, not a threat. The Great Chiefs Mbeng Bessong, SA Arrey, Tataw James and many others would never have considered a so-called appeal against a judgement passed by Mgbe.

Law and order are the foundation of a functioning and civilised society. Without law and order, chaos would reign and the scenes in Nchang would be the norm. In any civilised society, there is a separation of powers and in our Manyu nation, there is a role for our Chiefs, but this is not one of them. Mgbe reigns absolutely in Manyu and will continue to reign supreme all the days of our lives and during the lives of our descendants.

By Sessekou Isong Asu and Nfor Mgbe Barrister John Ntuiabane, Mgbe UK

Southern Cameroons Crisis: Libianca Raises Her Voice with New Song “God’s People”

27, April 2024

Southern Cameroons Crisis: Libianca Raises Her Voice with New Song “God’s People” 0

Cameroonian-American singer Libianca is advocating for the victims affected by the aftermath of the Anglophone crisis in Cameroon through her new single “God’s People.”

“If you want to help the Anglophones, listen to this song,” she says. “I’ve released GOD’S PEOPLE everywhere to raise funds from my stream profits to help victims of the Anglophone crisis in Cameroon. You would be joining me to support some people in my country who’ve lost their families, their hopes in making their dreams come true, and their education. If I’m influential, I might as well influence others to show love to each other.”

The Anglophone Crisis remains a pressing issue in the Republic of Cameroon in Central Africa, with English-speaking Ambazonian separatists fighting for the independence of the former British trust territory of Southern Cameroons.

Culled from Bellanaija

Cameroon doctors flee to Europe, North America for lucrative jobs

18, April 2024

Cameroon doctors flee to Europe, North America for lucrative jobs 0

The state of health care in Cameroon is a source of growing concern, with thousands of doctors fleeing the central African country for lucrative jobs elsewhere, especially in Europe and North America, according to officials.

The number of people, including doctors, acquiring passports and applying for visas has increased by 70 percent, officials say. In addition, 75 percent of the 1,000 doctors that Cameroon’s government trains each year are leaving.

Cameroon’s Ministry of Public Health reports that several hundred doctors are enrolled in what members of the profession see as lucrative schemes to emigrate to Canada. Also, the number of health workers, including doctors, applying for the U.S. government’s Diversity Immigrant Visa Program, also known as the Green Card Lottery, is rising.

The Cameroon Medical Council, an association of doctors, says the doctor-patient ratio in Cameroon has sunk to one doctor per 50,000 people, instead of the World Health Organization’s recommended ratio of one doctor per 10,000 patients. The group reports that the doctors are fleeing to escape hardship, poor pay, difficult working conditions and unemployment.

Doctor Peter Louis Ndifor, the council’s vice president, said it is unfortunate that Cameroon trains but does not recruit thousands of its doctors. He spoke to VOA via telephone from Buea, an English-speaking town in southwestern Cameroon.

“The number of registered doctors on the roll[s] of the Cameroon Medical Council is about 13,000, but we have 5,000 to 6,000 doctors in Cameroon presently,” he said. “Doctors quitting Cameroon is an eloquent testimony that doctors are in discomfort, doctors are in distress.”

Cameroon says it currently needs at least 30,000 health workers, including doctors. The country is facing attacks from Boko Haram that have left more than 36,000 people dead, a separatist crisis that has killed more than 6,000 people and displaced about 750,000 others, and the spillover of sectarian violence from neighboring Central African Republic.

The Cameroon Medical Council says the central African country in 2013 launched a program to train about 1,000 doctors in order to improve the doctor-patient ratio, which was then one doctor per 17,000 patients.

However, the government recruits less than 100 doctors each year due to financial constraints, officials say. Cameroon’s Ministry of Public Health says it expected privately owned hospitals to recruit a majority of the doctors upon graduation from medical school, but hospitals owned by individuals, communities and churches also recruit less than 100 doctors each year.

Even when recruited, the doctors say they are paid about $100 per month in private hospitals and about $220 per month in government hospitals.

Jathor Godlove, 29, is an unemployed doctor. After seven years of study at the faculty of medicine of Cameroon’s University of Bamenda, he says hardship is forcing him to consider leaving the country.

“I find myself being very restrained and restricted in my capacity to help my family,” he said. “I even have some peers who venture out of medicine because they see that as a medic, when you get somewhere to offer your services, they will tell you they want to pay you 50,000 [Central African CFA] francs a month [around $80 U.S.], which is very funny. Some of them have families, when they find themselves in such situations, they see better opportunities abroad. I think you can’t blame them.”

He says poor working conditions — including the lack of hospital equipment and poor pay — are pushing nurses, midwives and laboratory technicians to join doctors in leaving Cameroon for Europe and North America.

However, some medical staff members who have not been able to travel out of Cameroon offer voluntary services in hospitals like in Bamenda, capital of Cameroon’s English-speaking Northwest Region.

Doctor Denis Nsame, director of the Regional Hospital in Bamenda, says unemployed health care workers outnumber health workers hired by the government.

“At the Regional Hospital in Bamenda, out of 600 staff, only 146 are state-employed staff, and we consult on average 45,000 patients per year, carry out about 1,900 surgeries per year, we have deliveries [of babies] close to 250 to 300 every month,” Nsame said.

The Cameroon Medical Council says that some health workers, including doctors, at times go several months without pay. Many of the health workers count on donations and consultation fees from well-wishers and patients to make a living.

In a message to Cameroonian youths last February 11, Cameroonian President Paul Biya said young people’s growing desire to emigrate is increasingly a cause for concern. He said Cameroonians should be patriotic and serve their homeland because the country is facing difficulties and leaving is not a solution.

Doctors and other health workers say the president, if he wants to curb emigration, should improve their living conditions and hospital equipment.

Source: VOA

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