Government launches free maternity care in Anglophone Regions

The Cameroon Government, through the Ministry of Public Health, has expanded its health voucher program to the North West and South West Regions, providing free maternity care for pregnant women. This includes free prenatal and delivery services.

This initiative is part of the ongoing Universal Health Coverage (UHC) scheme and aims to improve maternal and neonatal care across the country.

The health voucher program, now extended to seven of the country’s ten regions, allows pregnant women to access a range of services, including free antenatal care, ultrasound checks, and both normal and complicated deliveries.

Additionally, the program offers free healthcare for newborns during the first 42 days of life.

To benefit, pregnant women are required to register for the voucher at a cost of FCFA 6,000 per pregnancy.

The Minister of Public Health, Dr. Manaouda Malachie, officially launched the program in Buea on Wednesday, August 7, marking its extension to the conflict-affected North West and South West Regions.

These regions have faced significant challenges in healthcare access due to ongoing armed conflict, making the introduction of the health voucher program particularly impactful.

Dr. Malachie said the health voucher is part of Phase 1 of the Universal Health Coverage, designed to reduce high maternal and infant mortality rates, increase the utilization of maternal and infant healthcare services, and address the under-financing of the healthcare sector.

“This is a small revolution that opens a new page in the history of Cameroon’s healthcare system,” Dr. Malachie stated during the launch.

He noted that the voucher provides significant health benefits at a minimal cost and encouraged the population to enroll in the program to fully benefit from the government’s commitment to equitable healthcare access.

In addition to launching the health voucher, Dr. Malachie visited several healthcare facilities in Buea, including the Buea Regional Hospital, where he commissioned new hemodialysis machines.

Recall that the government has subsidized the yearly cost of hemodialysis from over FCFA 500,000 per year to just FCFA 15,000, as part of the Universal Health Coverage.

IMMINENT COMPLETION OF BUEA REFERRAL HOSPITAL

Dr Malachie reiterated the government’s commitment to completing the construction of the Buea referral hospital, which has been stalled since 2018 after separatists reportedly attacked construction workers.

The elite in Buea has repeatedly raised concerns about the resumption of the hospital’s construction but the government has previously made no official statement about the facility.

The Minister assured the public that construction work on the hospital would soon resume.

It is left to be seen when this promise will materialize as previous governmental promises on vital infrastructures have suffered long delays to be fulfilled.

©Mimi Mefo Info