Cameroon

Cameroon has a population of 24.4 million with a life expectancy of 65.5 and 61.0 years for females and males respectively.¹ Per the Ministry of Health, access to healthcare was 2.19 health facilities per 10,000 inhabitants as of 2016.²

In collaboration with Mercy Ships and the Cameroonian Ministry of Public Health, SPECT trained 20 workers from 5 healthcare facilities in Douala on the fundamentals of sterile processing. SPECT’s training addressed sterilization techniques, filling knowledge gaps for health care workers and contributing to a reduced risk of surgical site infection. Ten health care workers were invited to attend a two-day Training of Trainers (ToT) workshop to bolster their educator skills, thereby building local capacity to expand SPECT's impact.

While in Cameroon, the course facilitator was invited by the General Secretary to attend a quarterly meeting for all head nurses from each department of one partnering facility. During this meeting, she watched three ToT participants present on the proper methods of cleaning surgical instruments. It was one of her proudest moments, to see these individuals who only four months ago were hesitant to embrace change, to that moment, where they were teaching their colleagues and confidently answering the questions they themselves had asked not long ago. It was a moment of true affirmation that the knowledge being imparted through education and training is being well comprehended and passed on to others, leading to safer surgery in Cameroon.

¹ Cameroon. (2020). Retrieved from http://www.healthdata.org/cameroon

² MINSANTE, Cameroon Health Map 2016