MinSanté Tripartite Meeting on Mercyships: Our Report
Following MedCamer’s open letter to the Minister of Communication on the humanitarian mission Mercy Ship, the Ministry of Health invited our organization and the National Order of Physicians of Cameroon to a meeting on Tuesday, May 09, 2017. This Meeting, extended to the National Orders of Dentists and Pharmacists was devoted to two main themes:
The Mercy Ship Humanitarian Mission
Universal Health Coverage
The Minister of Health in his introductory remarks commended the presence of all and emphasized that the Minister of Communication was only the spokesman for the Government and had taken no responsibility in his personal capacity Of the minutes of the meeting. Concerns raised by MedCamer and Professional Orders that are more of MINSANTE.
He expressed appreciation for the constructive nature of MedCamer’s positions and the concerns expressed by healthcare professionals.
Our vice-president in charge of communication reminded us of the lack of understanding and frustration experienced by Cameroonian doctors in the face of this humanitarian mission, the actual modalities of which they do not know.
This was followed by a presentation on the humanitarian mission Mercy ship of the Director of the Fight against Disease and Epidemics, with the stated aim of removing the ambiguities and clarifying the concerns raised by the Professional Orders and MedCamer.
We will essentially retain that:
1. All professionals involved in the Africa Mercy hospital boat shall be subject to an accreditation procedure in accordance with Cameroonian law,
2. Capacity-building activities for nearly 800 health personnel at all levels (from medical specialists to surface technicians) will be organized both on-board and extra-muros,
3. A subregional hospital biomaintenance center will be set up and equipped at the Laquintinie Hospital,
4. Some health facilities will undergo a redevelopment and strengthening of the technical facilities of certain services.
At the end of this presentation, our Secretary General reiterated that the simplest operations could have been relocated to the regions, thus facilitating the sharing of experience and reducing costs.
Concerning universal health coverage (UHC), the Minister of Health explained that the current approach was complex and justified a long time to arrive at the production of a realistic and viable project. He wished to point out that the concept of CSU included two components which had to be taken into account:
Organizing and financing the provision of care: health facilities, human resources, equipment, etc.
Organizing and financing the demand for health care: health insurance
It will be necessary to train the teams with specific missions and to take the time necessary to develop a suitable project at the cost of multiple working sessions.
However, the Minister acknowledged that the lack of involvement of Orders and Physician Associations such as MedCamer in the conduct of this work was a breach that would be corrected in the future.
At the end of this meeting, our representatives presented the Minister with a “Priority Actions Manifesto” expressing our priority expectations and proposals.
Detailed report HERE