Leocadia Bongben
4 December 2008
The major challenge for Cameroon as the world commemorates World AIDS Day on December 1 is to provide prenatal care to pregnant women in hospitals to prevent mother to child transmission.
According to the Permanent Secretary of the National AIDS Control Committee, NACC, Dr. Jean-Bosco Elat, access rate to hospitals by pregnant women is staggering at 30 percent, about 300,000 out of the about 850,000 pregnant women every year.
He made the revelation during a press conference organised by the UNAIDS in collaboration with the NACC at the Yaounde Djeuga Palace on November 28.The inaccessibility by pregnant women to health facilities has been attributed to poverty, as illustrated by an Islamic scholar, that for women to pay FCFA 400 to get to a hospital, the money is rather used to feed the house.
Even trekking long distances to hospitals discourages them from attending prenatal care. The number of women that deliver at home without prenatal care therefore, remains preoccupying.
Though there are 1500 functional sites only 162 health districts offer services in the direction of prevention of mother to child transmission.Within the period of June 2008, about 139,562 pregnant women benefited from HIV free screening out of which 9,392 were positive and 21.4 percent positive children born of HIV positive mothers.
The NACC receives FCFA 4250 billion this year from the global fund which is not enough as FCFA 7 billion is needed, Elat said.According to Dr. Mamadou Lamine Sakho, Country Coordinator of ONUSIDA, thematic group on the fight against HIV/AIDS in the United Nations System, an estimated 33 million is living with the pandemic with 22 million in Africa.
He said Women are the most vulnerable with 65 percent in Africa.Though FCFA 10 million was mobilised about FCFA 8 million is needed to fill the gap to meet the target and by 2010 about FCFA 50 million would be needed.
Concerning allegations of wrong HIV test kits, it was explained that all tests in Cameroon have a 90-94 percent sensitivity margin, which necessitates a second test.According to experts, when the test is positive there is a control test that is conducted.
On some drugs that have been banned though allegedly still in circulation, it was said that the brand was not bad, but lacks some nutrient as an industrial fault, but that these were removed from circulation and burnt.
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