The Cameroon Baptist Convention Health Services (CBCHS) has told staff working in US-funded projects that it will be unable to pay salaries between January 25 and April 24.
That is because the United States, which funds key health projects run by the CBCHS, suspended all external health funding for 90 days after the new Donald Trump administration took over.
Trump’s decision caused a shutdown in the CBCHS’ Patient Management System (PMS) on January 24.
According to the Cameroon Baptist Convention Health Services, PMS is a comprehensive electronic system that manages patient records, appointments, treatment plans, and other vital medical data within their healthcare facilities.
It allows for efficient and organised patient care delivery aligned with their Christian mission of providing quality care to all in need.
On January 28, Prof. Tih Pius Muffih, the Principal Investigator and Country Director of the HIV-Free project, SPHLS, and CAMPHIA projects of the CBCHS, announced that funding for these projects has temporarily halted due to the recent change in government in the US.
“It is a normal tradition in the US Government for the new government to do a system assessment within the first months of taking over. The assessment requires a shutdown of activities. Consequently, the PMS is shut down effective January 24, 2025, for 90 days for assessment.”
As a result, he said: “We shall be unable to pay salaries for January 2025. We certainly have a commitment to pay up to January 24, 2025.”
Trump Halts Foreign Funding
In one of several executive orders signed on his first day in office, US President Donald Trump halted external health funding for 90 days.
This involved suspending funds for all US-funded programs, including the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), and USAID.
Trump also pulled the US out of the World Health Organization.
Being the highest WHO funder, the US’ funding helps the organization to provide free services to over 25 million HIV patients in the world.
Cameroon, with over half a million HIV patients, has been a beneficiary of the frozen funding.
MMI earlier reported that the US Centre for Disease Control (CDC) had pumped in over FCFA 400 billion in the fight against HIV/AIDS.
The report quotes the US Ambassador to Cameroon, Christopher Lamora, saying that the largest funds were being channelled to CBC Health Services.
Uncertain Future for CBCHS Project Workers
With the funding frozen, the CBC Health Services says it is uncertain about the future.
Funding for its three aforementioned projects might only resume in April, but this remains uncertain.
“We are not sure what the results of the assessments will be but we encourage all project staff to maintain services to the patients and be at work as usual,” Prof Tih’s letter read.
Prof Tih said workers should “not start any new activities; not expect to be paid for the period January 25, 2025, to April 24, 2025…”
He added that “all staff eligible for annual leave are expected to proceed on a compulsory/documented annual leave within the period of January 25, 2025, to April 24, 2025”.
He told the project staff that their employment is conditional on the availability of funding and good job performance.
“This means that the HIV-Free, SPHLS and CAMPHIA Projects cannot guarantee you salary payment or a job at the end of this assessment if funding for the project stops OR if your performance during the period is poor,” he added.
Future of Workers
To Prof Tih, the workers are free to quit at any time without prior notification to the project coordinators if they find a new job or do not wish to continue.
“Depending on the results of the US government assessment and on our assessment of our staff performance, attitude, cooperation and commitment to work during this difficult period, we shall determine who to retain, what to give as remuneration for the period January 25 to April 24, 2025, and for the rest of the year ending September 29, 2025,” he said.
The announcement shows the CBC Health Services relies on US funding to provide free healthcare to HIV patients in Cameroon.
But the halt in funding, as MMI pointed out in a previous article, will harm so many patients in the country.
