Olive Ejang Tebug Ngoh
23 January 2009
Bishops of Buea, Bamenda, Kumbo and Mamfe dioceses have created a health solidarity scheme to alleviate poverty.
Styled the Bamenda Ecclesiastical Province Health Assistance, BEPHA, the Bishops stated that the initiative came after a reflection on ways to better help God's people have access to medical care at affordable rates.
Speaking in Kumba at the launching of BEPHA, January 17, the Bishop of Buea, His Lordship Immanuel Bushu, said even though they have opened hospitals and health centres, many people do not use the facilities because they can't afford to pay the bills.
The Bishop noted that many illnesses, which could have been handled in time, either aggravate or the patients end up dying at home.He said it was for this reason that during their Annual Episcopal Assembly of August 2007, they decided to set up BEPHA in the Bamenda Diocese.
However, Bushu pointed that though BEPHA is the idea of Bishops, everybody, irrespective of religion, tribe, culture, status or race can be part of it.He called on the Kumba population to guarantee life success through the scheme, since health is wealth.
Opening the fund raising, the paramount ruler of the Bafaws, Nfon V.E. Mukete, while supporting the scheme financially, lauded the Bishops' initiative. He admonished the Kumba population to massively register and benefit a 75 percent reduction in medical bills.
The manager of BEPHA Kumba, Ghislain Humbari, said BEPHA supports patients' medical bills up to FCFA 201,250 per year, after a FCFA 5000 registration.Humbari said the scheme supports only para-clinical examinations, drugs and consumables, hospitalisation, out patient consultation, deliveries, surgery (except elective abortions) and contraceptive surgery.
The manager explained that they would not stand for chronic conditions like diabetes, hypertension, rheumatism, arthritis, epilepsy, heart transplant amongst others.Martin Mekeru from St John Parish, Fiango, Kumba, was optimistic that the health solidarity scheme would be rid of corruption and embezzlement practised in government services.
About FCFA one million was generated during the fundraising to help the scheme kick off.
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