In a context marked by crisis, the Orange Foundation provides a concrete response to the needs of the people of the North West and South West by offering modern medical equipment and funding essential health care . In fact it has offered eight solar incubators and 500 health vouchers to support public health facilities and strengthen efforts to reduce maternal, newborn and infant mortality. The telephone company engages in this sector to: “Strengthen the ability to accommodate newborns in health facilities, participate in the fight against infant mortality and contribute to the development of appropriate care for mother and newborn,” said the Foundation.
It was the Minister of Public Health, Manaouda Malachie who received these donations from the Orange Foundation last Friday at the esplanade of his ministerial department. Expressing his gratitude, the minister welcomed this strategic support. “This equipment comes at the right time,” he said, recalling the challenges facing health infrastructure in these areas, often exacerbated by socio-political crises. “The health check you are offering today to the South West and North West regions, which have just joined this program this year, is a valuable tool. It allows pregnant women to benefit from free antenatal consultations. Thanks to this check, they can give birth for free. If there are problems during birth, they will be sent to a more suitable hospital and can undergo a cesarean section, all free of charge. In addition, if the baby falls ill within 42 days of birth, he or she will be able to receive free care at the hospital,” said Manaouda Malachie.
He emphasized the importance of these solar incubators in areas where access to electricity is limited, making it possible to save newborn lives in emergency situations, especially premature babies. The eight solar incubators will be installed in maternity wards identified by Minsanté as vulnerable, providing a sustainable solution to the electricity needs of newborn care. He continues: “This grant demonstrates our desire to reduce inequality of access to health care, particularly in the most affected areas. » Falling within the framework of corporate social responsibility (CSR), the company’s involvement in this sensitive area came from the idea that, “despite significant progress due to the actions of the government and its technical partners and financial, maternal and newborn health indicators remain worrying in Cameroon. We all know the statistics of around 460 deaths per 100,000 live births, which shows the gap that remains to be filled for Cameroon to achieve the goals set in the SDG framework, which is that, by 2030 to a figure below 140 deaths per 100,000 live births. “, explained Patrick Benon, general manager of Orange Cameroon, also PCA of the Orange Foundation.
With a total value of more than 23 million FCFA, this generous gesture marks an important step in the joint efforts of the public and private sectors to achieve the goal of Universal Health Coverage in Cameroon, with special attention paid to women pregnant women and children, the most vulnerable. The Orange Cameroon Foundation supports public authorities by developing various financial support activities that favor women of childbearing age and children aged 0 to 5, to guarantee that they have access to quality care. “This relates to the construction and equipment of maternity wards and newborn units of health facilities: provision of health facilities with water points and solar energy devices; funding of free screening and vaccination campaigns; training for health care workers; about the care of women suffering from problems such as fistulas”, lists the PCA of the Orange Foundation. It continues: “So far we have reached 25 maternity hospitals with donations of equipment and / or upgrading of infrastructure broken; 7 health structures that have water points, three maternity wards with solar electricity. we are learning.
MANAOUDA MALACHIE, Minister of Public Health
“The section you have chosen today is a priority for the President of the Republic”
It is important that we can work together and help our people to do well and produce wealth so that our country can get wealth, and that we can the situation that the President is Republic, HE Paul Biya, wishes to achieve. I will take that as an answer and I would like to thank you for supporting us in this context. The section you chose today is a priority for the President of the Republic. When we started to model universal health coverage, the President said that we should first target pregnant women and children aged zero to five. That is why, in phase 1 of universal health coverage, we focused on women and children between 0 and 5 years. The health check you are offering today to the South West and North West regions, which have just entered this program, is a valuable resource. “
PATRICK BENON, CEO of Orange Cameroon, also PCA of the Orange Foundation
“The total amount of this support amounts to more than 23 million FCFA. “
It is not just telephone, it is not just internet access, it also supports numbers within the framework of public-private partnerships. So we are here today to support the actions of the government in the field of health with 8 eggs that we have just given to the Ministry of Health. These are connected, independent, solar-powered incubators to meet the needs of women giving birth in the country’s most remote hospitals. We also support health checks. We have provided 500 health checks that will be used to constantly support pregnant women in accessing health care so that, obviously, the process of childbirth and newborn care goes to good. So our total support is more than 23 million CFA francs. And again, Orange Cameroon is still there in the health sector. When we take into account the support we have given over the last few years in the field of health, we are at more than 500 million in funding that we have ever given to support the numbers. “.
