The North West elite have raised more than FCFA 53 million to support the rehabilitation of the Bamenda Regional Hospital following the devastating fire that destroyed part of the facility in June.
The funds were officially handed over during a ceremony in Yaounde on Friday, July 17, where former Prime Minister Philemon Yang, representing the North West elite, presented symbolic bank transfer slips and deposit receipts to the President of the North West Regional Assembly, Prof. Fru Angwafo III. Prof. Angwafo received the funds in his capacity as Chairman of the Bamenda Regional Hospital Management Committee.
The fundraising campaign was initiated by the Minister Delegate at the Ministry of External Relations in charge of Relations with the Commonwealth, Felix Mbayu. Speaking during the ceremony, he announced that all the pledges made during the campaign had been redeemed, bringing the total amount raised to FCFA 53,603,179.
He added that a balance of just over FCFA 2 million is expected to be collected within two weeks after the campaign's Mobile Money account is reactivated.
Minister Mbayu thanked everyone who contributed to the initiative and praised the spirit of solidarity shown by people from different parts of the country. He gave special recognition to the Minister of Public Health, Dr. Manaouda Malachie, for supporting the initiative and helping to give it official backing.
He explained that the fundraising effort was never intended to replace the government's responsibility to rebuild the hospital but rather to complement ongoing government efforts. He also thanked Ministers Grégoire Owona, Paul Tasong and Mengot Arrey Victor for their generous contributions.
During the ceremony, the Director of the Bamenda Regional Hospital, Dr. Denis Nsame, briefed participants on the extent of the damage caused by the June 29–30 fire.
He said the fire destroyed 10 key administrative units of the hospital. While government experts are still assessing the structural damage to the building, preliminary estimates indicate that medical equipment worth about FCFA 68 million and pharmaceutical supplies valued at FCFA 58 million were destroyed.
Dr. Nsame explained that the fire also affected several important services. Among them was the hospital's multimedia centre, which enabled doctors in Bamenda to consult specialists in Europe, America and other parts of the world through virtual platforms.
He reassured the public that more than 95 percent of the hospital's records had already been backed up on cloud storage. According to him, only patient records for the month of June, which had not yet been digitised, were lost in the fire.
The hospital's Gender-Based Violence (GBV) Unit was also completely destroyed. Dr. Nsame noted that the unit had handled more than 90 cases of gender-based violence and rape during the first half of the year.
Despite the damage, he said the Bamenda Regional Hospital remains one of the region's most important referral health facilities. The 70-year-old institution has a 400-bed capacity and employs more than 700 staff, including 98 medical doctors and 36 specialists, among them 12 surgeons.
The hospital also serves as a teaching centre for medical students and resident doctors and provides healthcare services to an average of 2,500 patients every month.
Dr. Nsame further highlighted that the hospital hosts the North West Region's only haemodialysis centre, the region's second-largest medical imaging centre and a newly commissioned emergency centre donated by the North West Regional Assembly.
Speaking on the cause of the fire, the hospital director said investigations are still ongoing, although early findings suggest that severe power fluctuations may have triggered the blaze.
He explained that hospital staff and firefighters used more than 21 fire extinguishers in an attempt to control the flames. However, the fire was concentrated in the roof, making it difficult to access. Efforts were also slowed when the hospital's internal hydrants failed to supply water, forcing firefighters to wait more than 30 minutes for an external water tanker.
Besides raising funds, members of the North West elite used the occasion in Yaounde to engage government officials and other stakeholders in discussions aimed at speeding up the reconstruction of the hospital.
The ceremony ended with a call for unity, encouraging Cameroonians to put aside political differences and continue supporting one another during difficult times.
0 Comments