Through a recent national survey of the health sector, statistics indicate that there some 25,000 to 30,000 health personnel in the public and private sector in Cameroon. According to health experts, this does not cover the health needs of Cameroonians which are twice higher. This is why yesterday February 16, a ceremony for the restitution of studies relating to the completion of the plan for the development of human resources in the public health sector between 2011 to 2015, and the adaption of the planning process with the Ministry of the Economy, Planning and Regional Development (MINEPAT) took place at the Ministry of Public Health in the presence of health experts and financial partners.
The Minister of Public Health, André Mama Fouda reiterated the need for his ministry to reinforce its engagement in assuring that all Cameroonians have proper access to healthcare. The ceremony was within the framework of the public health strategy to improve the healthcare delivery system in the country. The Director of Human Resources at the Ministry of Public Health, Professor Kingue said by 2016, the health personnel in Cameroon should be over 60,000 to be able to cover the national health needs. This is why the Ministry of Public Health is putting on a strategy to increase the number of health personnel and also to improve the quality. So far, the Ministry of Public Health has opened eight new schools for the training of midwives. This will increase the number of midwives from 200 today to 1,500 by 2020. Some 13 new departments for the training of specialists are functional at the University of Yaounde I.
To improve healthcare in Cameroon, the Director of Human Resources said equipment infrastructure and finance are not as lacking as human resources. Professor Kingue said there is a huge gap in what is needed and what is available. He said there is need to train more health workers and recruit them in the public and private sectors as well as ensure an equitable distribution across the country. Presently, most health workers he said are found in the towns of Yaounde and Douala leaving remote places less attended to.
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