The FCFA 1,516,326,000 package voted over the week end takes into account the free treatment of simple malaria in children.
The 2011 budget for the Special Fund for Health Promotion, SFHP, which was voted during a statutory meeting in Douala on Friday, January 21, has witnessed a 7.18 per cent increase from that of last year. Reasons attributed to the increase include not only the cost of functioning which has gone up by a 5.96 per cent but also the necessity to execute the recent Presidential instructions which reduced the cost of simple malaria treatment in children of below five years old.
The session essentially harped on the practical modalities to effectively carry out the instructions of the Head of State, Paul Biya, on free treatment of simple malaria come January 31, when free treatment is expected to go underway. Investment stands at FCFA 166,900,000, drugs purchasing FCFA 1,043,630,000 and a functioning cost of FCFA 1,457,355,500. The budget will focus on reinforcing the capacities of members, dialogue structures to permit them to better control the management of community pharmacies; implement financing of purchasing agency based on performance; assist mutual health in drawing up, implementation and follow-up in the evaluation of marketing plan; and contribute to guarantee the availability of essential pharmaceutical products. Emphasis is also directed towards supporting the growth of regional units for the fight against illicit pharmaceutical products; continuing the process of integration the public health sector; supporting the training of communities within the framework of the fight against cholera as well as the holding of a constitutive general assembly for the creation of public interest groups.
Dr. Joseph-Marie Bikoti, Manager of the Special Fund for Health Promotion, expressed allusions to some achievements of the year just gone by, pointed to areas where it did not meet objectives and together with the assembly envisaged improvement strategies. The Representative of the Littoral Delegate of Public Health, Dr. Fon Elizabeth, who is Regional Coordinator for the National Tuberculosis Programme, said, “We have also come out with preventive and curative health emergencies against diseases, for instance, cholera. I informed them about the cholera situation and helped them know its prevention in order to stop its spread.” Social and Cultural Adviser to the Littoral Governor’s Office, Sen Kong Rachel, presided at the budgetary session.
