CBC Health Board Launches Local Capacity Initiative Project Celebrating Countless Awards

The CBC Health service has celebrated a countless number of Awards since the North west; South West HIV free Project kick started in the Region at the same time launching a robust health care system program that will impact grossly the health life of local communities directly and will be owned by the communities earmarked through the project dubbed Local capacity Initiative playing host at the Mutual Fund for Health Hall Bamenda on the 22nd of July 2014. Presenting the Project in Bamenda, the Director Prof. Tih Pius Muffih, stressed that the launched local capacity initiative project is one of the strategic approaches that aims at boosting the uptake of antenatal care (ANC) and preventive mother to child transmission (PMTCT) services in the various health districts. According to the Project Director Prof Tih, through the Local Capacity initiative project, the CBC Health Board will create and strengthen support structures, otherwise called dialogue structures in 30 districts to take an active part in leading supporting, co-financing and co-managing health care programs. “This project targets, mobilizing, engaging and strengthening stakeholders ranging from district Medical officers, district management teams, local councils and traditional authorities to own and take the lead in defining their own quality health care working towards accomplishing it with resources mobilized by them”. He noted that the strategy aligns well with PEPFAR’S focus on community engagement to enhance and optimize health service uptake and the sustainability of health program resources to limited countries such as Cameroon. Beside, the population at the launching were informed that the approach to health care also fits well with the current drive towards decentralization of services to local Councils. The project goal is to build the capacities of rural Councils and district management teams through capacity building and supervision for sustainable quality HIV and Aids services in the North West and South West Regions, given that the local capacity initiative project is a Sub-Project of HIV Free N.W\S.W Project. Above all, the project objectives are to mobilize stakeholders to take ownership of ANC\PMTCT Services to ensure sustainability, revitalize and build the capacities of dialogue structures and rural Councils for good governance. While congratulating CBC Health Services for its relentless efforts in fighting HIV\AIDS in the country, Dr Odile who deputized for the North West Regional Delegate of Public Health, expected that at the end of the day, there would be well and functional health management committees with well trained members to plan, implement and monitor health activities within their Districts “we expect that district management teams will follow up to ensure respect of good governance principles at all levels within the district and local Councils playing a more defined and coordinated role including health care financing in the district”. She also saw the improvement of monitoring and documentation of health outcomes, by district teams and district health management committees empowered to monitor and ensure the smooth functioning of facilities within the district. The local capacity initiative project which will last for three years will involve ten health districts of the North West and South West Regions. In the North West it will concern, Ako, Benakuma, Mbengwi, Tubah and Bafut, while in the South West it will be, Eyumojock, Konye, Wabane, Ekondo Titi and Bangem. The project is not an independent project as it aligns with the CDC\PEPFAR project and seen as a strategy to further sustain the accomplishments of the strategy to further sustain the accomplishment of main project, HIV Free N.W\S.W. Worth noting, is the fact that the activities of the local capacity initiative project will be implemented and reported as part of objective 7 of the HIV Free N.W\SW Project. The Local Councils and Chiefs are generally viewed as custodians of the populations and so have a lot of influences. Through this project, they will be more involved and even capacitated to take the lead in planning, mobilizing, monitoring and participating in health care financing. One of the high point of the occasion was the presentation of over a dozen of National and international Awards CBC Health Services has bagged since 2011 to 2014.Amongst the Awards was that from the US Government, Cameroon Ministry of Health, World Echoes Newspaper 2014 Prosperity Icons Award Designating the Project Best Health Driven Project in the Republic and the Watch Dog Tribune Award. CBC also used the occasion to Award Fon Chafah XI of Bangolan and the Lamido of Banyu for promoting health service activities in their Fondoms and Lamidad.