“The US ambassador to Cameroon Christopher Lamora has witnessed the launch of the Increase Sight-level Availability of Health Commodities ISAHC. This was during the launching ceremony of the project that took place on the 18th of August 2023 at Littoral regional Fund gor Health in the economic capital city Douala. The ceremony was effectuated in the presence of the governor of the Littoral region Samuel Dieudonné Ivahha Diboua who applauded the quality of the project which will go a long way in giving a hand of support in the health domain”.
• The ISACH is a three-year, over FCFA 588 million project of the USAID funded by the US government President’s Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief PEPFAR, aimed at making available, HIV AIDS drugs at every area of the region specifically in the remote areas. An initiative which the US ambassador says they are happy to have realized the project “we are very happy that we have this long-term partnership with the government of Cameroon with local organizations with health facilities throughout littoral region in providing necessary medicines to people with HIV and Aids. This project, the donation of these drugs and the ISACH project overall are going to ensure that the people who need these life-saving drugs get them in the shortest possible time.
The distribution of drugs, the stocking, the supply chain are all critical to saving lives and we are very happy that through this program we will be able to safe even more through out the region” the US ambassador said.
The project manager of the ISACH Dr. Virginie Mengue Obama while presenting the project during the ceremony said before the realization of the project, there were multiple challenges faced by the regional health delegation in the acquisition and delivery of the drugs. Sometimes, there were late deliveries, problems with logistics as there were insufficient vehicles to transport the drugs at the different levels, poor management at the regional and central levels. Adding that, they had limited stock, were even faced with expired drugs all causing a handicap in the safe distribution of drugs to patients living with HIV AIDS. But thanks to strategies launched by the USAID, solutions were brought out. In September 2022, the first submission was dashed out where the USAID gave feedbacks and in November, the second submission was done which followed a subvention of both parties bringing to essence the birth of ISAHC awarded to the Cameroon Regional Fund for Health of the Littoral region. The ISACH project manager said with this project the problems they have encountered so far will be a story of the past as the ISAHC ensures a continuous availability of drugs of HIV AIDS in the various health centers and even to the remote areas.
The US ambassador equally indicated that, the aid to combat HIV AIDS is not only limited in the Littoral region “For now we are working in the littoral region but that is specifically for the ISACH project. I think it’s important to realize this is just one of many aspects of our inter HIV programming through USAID and through the president’s of the Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief, PEPFAR. “ I have visited many regions in this country during my time here I have been in the far North, in the West, Centre here in littoral and there are PEPFAR programs doing a variety of things to help people with HIV AIDS through out Cameroon.” The US ambassador noted.
This project is therefore a good news to patients living with HIV AIDS who had had problems with getting access to the desired drugs as the ISAHC comes in at a time to ensure a continuous and a sustainable supply of drugs relief.
Juliette MESAME
