Health personnel have been given a pass mark for their distinct professionalism during the just ended 2020 African Nations Championship.

During an evaluation meeting held last weekend at the Public Health Emergency Operations Centre in Yaounde, the Minister of Public Health, Dr Malachie Manaouda said the health coverage had been satisfactory and health personnel gave in their best even under challenging conditions.

The meeting that held on February 12, brought together the President of the medical commission of the CHAN, the regional representatives of public health, the directors of hospitals, managers of public health structures as well as partners involved in the organization and implementation of the awareness-raising strategy in charge and administration of care during the competition.

In his introductory remarks, the Minister of Public Health, Chairman of the session, congratulated the health personnel, who beyond sometimes under extreme working conditions knew how to give the best of themselves for the success of the competition.

On his part, the Incident Manager for Health Coverage, Dr Cyrille Kamga presented the final report of his various teams as well as the mechanisms put in place at airports, accommodation centres, restaurants, training grounds and during official meetings, on the Yaoundé, Douala and Limbé sites. The objective being to manage immediate surgical emergencies, prevent and mitigate the risks of importing new variants of Covid-19 and of the spread of the disease, but also to ensure medical regulation.

In addition to the anti-doping tests, systematic disinfection of hotels after each passage of delegations and stadiums after each match were carried out, Dr Kamga said.

Awareness-raising campaigns on the practice of barrier gestures on and off competition venues were also carried out, as well as the testing of officials, players, visitors and the extraction of positive cases.

In total, out of the 9,913 samples, 182 positive cases were recorded, 133 persons recovered, he revealed, adding that a few cases remain under observation and need to recover before returning to their countries.

Despite the positive feedbacks from all those who took the floor, some shortcomings were however highlighted like the unavailability of certain drugs and medical inputs, a lack of collaboration between certain entities, inadequate logistics and indiscipline at fan zones and in the stands.

Thus, several recommendations were made at the end of the meeting with the Minister of Public Health stressing that reflections be made on the subject of medical management and human resources and take the necessary measures in order to avoid any pressure during the Africa Cup of Nations next January.

To this end, it was agreed to immediately set up the Sub-Committees, to plan the supply of drugs and medical inputs, to strengthen laboratory equipment and their supply of reagents, and to reactivate simulations, disasters in hospitals in order to develop the reflexes of nursing staff, the development of procedures and specifications to provide information on the different actors and their roles. It was also requested to carry out an in-depth reflection on a strategy that could stimulate spectators to respect the barrier measures.