TRANSFORMING CAMEROON’S HEALTH SYSTEMS: AN ESSENTIAL ROLE OF WATER, SANITATION AND HYGIENE MINSANTE / NGO ASSAUVET PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT
-On September 30, 2020, on the very high instruction of the Head of State His Excellency Paul BIYA, the Minister of Public Health of Cameroon, His Excellency Dr MALAOUDA-Malachie, signed on behalf of the State of Cameroon, a partnership agreement with the NGO / Assauvet, the Humanitarian Association saving life, drinking water for all, represented by its General Coordinator Mr. Martin Luther KANNA VI. -The duration of the Minsanté-Ong Assauvet partnership agreement is 05 years renewable.
THE OBJECTIVE OF THE MINSANTE-ONG ASSAUVET PARTNERSHIP
That each Health Establishment, wherever it is located in Cameroon, must have reliable and safely managed facilities for access to drinking water, sanitation and hygiene, associated with adequate practices, which help meet the needs of staff and patients for quality, safe and person-centered care with special attention to the needs of women, girls and children. Through the construction of boreholes equipped with solar or human-powered pumps, modern toilets separated Women-men and disabled with sufficient staff of hand-washing stations including soap, the supply of hygiene and sanitation kits in public health facilities in Cameroon. In 2015, WHO and UNICEF published the first global report on the state of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services in health facilities in low-income countries. or intermediate. This report revealed that health facilities are often deprived of running water, sanitation and the means to maintain good hygiene. This seriously affects the quality of patient care.
Since then, Ong Assauvet has been working with its partners and the Cameroonian Ministry of Public Health to improve (WASH) services in medical settings in several regions of Cameroon. This report from WHO and UNICEF provides an overview of the positive changes achieved. It details the approach to strengthening health systems adopted by Assauvet and how these interventions have contributed to lasting improvements in (WASH) services in healthcare structures in Cameroon.
Much remains to be done to achieve universal access to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and Universal Health Coverage (UHC) by 2030, as foreseen in the Development Goals. Sustainable (SDG). The NGO Assauvet hopes to help bring about the change of scale necessary to achieve the goal set for 2030 in the global action plan for access to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) in health establishments in Cameroon.
In 2015, the report from WHO and UNICEF. “Water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) in health care facilities: “State of play and prospects in low and middle income countries” noted the catastrophic state of (WASH) services in health structures in 54 countries. It showed that nearly 50% of establishments did not have access to water, that one in five did not have “improved” sanitation facilities and that more than a third did not have access to water. hand washing equipment.
In addition to these alarming findings on the state of infrastructure, the report also indicated that other elements necessary to ensure adequate (WASH) services in health facilities were also missing. The necessary policies and budgets at the national level were often lacking, and monitoring systems were either non-existent or not aligned with internationally recognized basic service levels. Other studies then exposed the lack of staff and training in (WASH), Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) issues, a lack of coordination and leadership within and between ministries regarding (WASH). The lack of accreditation or regulation mechanisms for private health actors.
TO RESPOND TO THE SITUATION REVEALED IN THE REPORT, WHO AND UNICEF HAVE DRAWN UP A GLOBAL PLAN OF ACTION FOR (WASH) IN HEALTH FACILITIES
A plan that revolves around five change objectives (see figure 1) which focus on advocacy and leadership, policies and standards, monitoring, research and knowledge and finally the improvements to be made at the level of structures same health. The plan insists on the fact that the responsibility for carrying out and piloting the improvement of (WASH) services in health establishments rests with the actors (WASH). It recommends that all measures aimed at improving the situation participate in increasing the quality of care with the final aim of achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC), strengthening existing health systems and involving coordination between the ministries in charge of public health, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and the Ministry responsible for financing in a country.
Partnership agreement between the Ministry of Public Health and the Humanitarian Association save lives, drinking water for all Minsanté – NGO Assauvet 2020-2030
Transform Cameroon’s health systems, an essential role of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH).
Assauvet and its partners support the development and implementation of a National plan in Cameroon for the realization of reliable hydraulic infrastructure in health establishments to provide access to drinking water and sanitation and hygiene (WASH), a reality everywhere for all by 2030.
And this is the policy of His Excellency Paul BIYA, President of the Republic of Cameroon.
The WHO defines Universal Health Coverage as follows: “To ensure that everyone has access to the health services they need, in times of promotion of prevention, care and rehabilitation, and that these services are of a sufficient quality to be effective while ensuring that their cost does not lead to financial hardship for those concerned ”.
By 2030, each health establishment in Cameroon, wherever it is located, must have reliable and safely managed facilities for access to drinking water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) associated with appropriate practices that meet the needs of staff and patients for the provision of quality, safe, person-centered care with special attention to the needs of women, girls and children.
OC1 Water and sanitation services in health establishments are prioritized as the necessary contribution to the achievement of all national health objectives.
OC2 All countries adopt national standards and policies on (WASH) in health facilities and establish budgets dedicated to improving and maintaining services.
OC3 Global and national monitoring efforts integrate core and broad harmonized indicators to measure (WASH) services in health facilities.
OC4 The existing knowledge base is reviewed and strengthened to guide advocacy messages and improve the implementation of (WASH) services in health facilities.
OC5 The staff of the health establishments, the management and the patients mobilize to request the improvement of the (WASH) services, action plans based on the evolution of risks are implemented in the establishments in order to support an improvement of the services of (WASH) training and practices of the health personnel.
Transforming health systems in Cameroon, an essential role of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) by 2030.
The consequences of the lack of access to water, hygiene and sanitation (WASH) in health structures.
55% of health facilities in low- and middle-income countries do not have access to a safe drinking water supply system.
Three babies die every five minutes in sub-Saharan Africa or in South Asia, from completely preventable diseases such as: diarrhea, sepsis, meningitis, or tetanus, cholera, diseases which are all strongly linked to the lack of ‘hygiene.
77% of health facilities do not have soap for washing hands
PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE MINISTRY OF PUBLIC HEALTH “ MINSANTE ” AND THE NGO ASSAUVET, 2020-2030 TO TRANSFORM CAMEROON’S HEALTH SYSTEMS, AN ESSENTIAL ROLE OF WATER, SANITATION AND HYDIGIENE (WASH )
What solutions work to improve (WASH) services in health structures in Cameroon?
Assauvet is resolutely committed to playing the primary role of catalyst and directly supporting the improvement of (WASH) services in health facilities in Cameroon, in order to achieve SDGs 6 and 3.8.
We know that the leadership of health actors underlies initiatives that succeed in improving (WASH) services in medical settings, which is why we use a systems strengthening approach based on accompaniment and support to action initiated by the Cameroonian Ministry of Public Health.
PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE MINISTRY OF PUBLIC HEALTH MINSANTE AND LONG ASSAUVET 2020-2030
TRANSFORMING THE HEALTH SYSTEMS IN CAMEROON, AN ESSENTIAL ROLE OF WATER, SANITATION AND HYGIENE
Improving water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services in health facilities helps to:
-Improve preparedness and response to health emergencies | -Reduce maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality
-Improve patient satisfaction and demand for care | -Reduce the development and spread of antimicrobial resistance
-Improve working conditions and the health and safety of occupational health personnel | -Reduce the risk of contracting an infection in a hospital environment
Water has been called liquid gold or the petroleum of the 21st century. However, nations waste this precious element, so much so that their main rivers have almost dried up when they flow into the sea.
Irrigation and evaporation do not improve the situation large rivers dry up. These include: Colorado in the western United States, the Yangzi Jiang in China, the Indus in Pakistan, the Ganges in India, and the Nile in Egypt.
NB: How to resolve the crisis? What is the real solution? Readers reply to me at info@assauvet.org