In May 2019, the Tulipe association donated 35 health kits to Action Contre le Faim (ACF). For the pharmaceutical company, the aim was to support the start-up of their operations in south-west Cameroon, particularly in the localities of Muea, Ekona, Muyuka, Malende, Banga and Bakundu.
This region is experiencing great political instability. Since 2016, there has been a drastic increase in violence, and since the end of 2017, clashes have been taking place between government armed forces and non-state militias. This increase in insecurity has led to large-scale internal displacements of people, drastically weakening the region’s healthcare system.
According to ACF, the vast majority of health facilities in the region are not operational. There are many reasons for this: health staff fleeing to safer areas, shortage of medicines, supply chain cut off by armed conflict. Private healthcare is still available, but is inaccessible to vulnerable populations.
Free basic healthcare
The combination of all these factors is leading to an increase in morbidity, particularly among vulnerable groups such as children under 5 and pregnant and breast-feeding women.
In order to support the population, Action Contre la Faim, in partnership with Caritas, has set up a minimum free basic healthcare package. This service is based on a network of mobile clinics. These temporary structures act as a complete substitute for the official healthcare system. Tulipe’s donation mainly enables ACF to get this project off the ground while awaiting other sources of medical supplies. This operation to donate medical equipment and medicines, which is scheduled to take place over 6 months, will directly benefit 94,807 people, including around 19,000 children and 700 pregnant women.
