To contain the recent surge in cases of the COVID-19, the Ministry of Public Health has decided to improve upon and boost the testing mechanism nationwide.
Thus, 400,000 new test kits are expected in the days ahead and will be distributed to the ten regions of the country, the Secretary of State in charge of Epidemics and Pandemic, Alim Hayatou recently stated.
These various items of equipment will be transported to the ten regions, through the various means as need arises.
These equipment add to those that were donated last week by the Clinton Health Access Initiative, CHAI. This donation was made by CHAI on behalf of the African Union, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Africa CDC (Center for Desease Control and prevention)
50 thousand test kits, 130 tablets, 130 modems, 130 analysis devices (Point of Care) and 50 thousand collection kits, with a total value of CFAF 400 million, were donated to the Ministry of Public Health on March 24, 2021 by the delegation of the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) led by Dr. Yauba Saidu.
“We want to thank the government of Cameroon through the Ministry of Public Health for the efficient strategy put in place to fight against the pandemic. We think the donation we just handed will play a vital role in curbing this disease,” Dr Saidu said.
The material handed to the National Public Health Laboratory aims to accelerate and strengthen access to diagnosis against COVID-19 in Cameroon.
These tools ensure that in 12 minutes flat, it will be possible to carry out screening and get the results earlier.
In addition to boosting testing, these devices will help to automatically generate data and centralize it on the various platforms, thus improving the quality of the information produced in this context.
“We are very delighted to receive this donation from CHAI, which is not the first time. They have always supported us since the outbreak of the pandemic and today they are back with another important donation which comes at the right time,” the Minister of Public Health said.
The health personnel who are expected to handle these equipments had previously received a two-day training to empower them.
