- Educational Programs
- Banso School for the Blind
- Youth Network for Health
- Advanced Life Support in Obstetrics (ALSO) and Basic Life Support in Obstetrics (BLSO)
- The Baptist Institute of Health Sciences (BIHS)
- CBC Scholarship for Children, Youths with Disability
- Inclusive School and Braille Center Kumbo
- Health Programs
- Mbingo ICU Oxygen and Suction Project
- HIV/AIDS Programs
- Nutrition Programs
- Tuberculosis Program
- Primary Health Care
- Women’s Health
- Counseling Program to Address Psychological Trauma
- Funds
- Beryl Thyer Memorial Africa Trust (BTMAT)
- CBCHS Staff Housing Fund
- Internally Displaced Persons Project
- Mbingo Hospital Indigent Patient Fund
- Dr. Brown Benevolent Fund
- Dr. Alexander Baba Gwan-Nulla Benevolent Fund at Banso Baptist Hospital
- The Meskine Baptist Hospital Indigent Patient Fund
- Constructing Health Facilities
- Banso Baptist Hospital Surgical Theater and Intensive Care Unit Expansion Project
- Mbingo Baptist Hospital Radiotherapy Program
- Mutengene Trauma Center
- Ophthalmology Inpatient Eye Ward and Theatre
- Ophthalmology Clinic and Low Vision Program
Banso School for the Blind – This school, which has blind and low vision students from 1st through 6th grades, is on the campus of Banso Baptist Hospital. The school teaches all students Braille, and, when the students transfer to regular school in 6th grade, the School for the Blind teachers must translate all their study materials and tests into Braille, then translate them back into English after the students complete their work, so that the regular school teachers can read them. The school emphasizes learning independence, and some of these students have gone on to college or found good jobs. An estimated 60% of students have low vision, rather than total blindness, and could read, if they had computers with low vision software, such as Zoom Text, and other vision aids. One donor has already donated (not through CHEF) 4 closed circuit TVs that greatly magnify text and can be adjusted to change text and background colors to enable maximum visibility of hardcopy text. Another donor has donated an institutional version of Zoom Text that can be loaded onto multiple computers, and 3 of the older students have already learned to use it. Your donation of money, computers, or other low vision aids can make a lifetime of difference for a blind or low vision student.
Youth Network for Health (YNH)
- Encourages youth to create or join health clubs and pledge abstinence from sex and substance abuse, with the aim of preventing HIV, other sexually transmitted infections and unwanted pregnancies, and preserving the intimacy of sex as part of marriage. Information on other prevention methods is provided.
- Carries out surveys on youths on their sexual awareness, attitudes and practices.
- Offers free HIV tests to youths with permission from their parents, as well as HIV and AIDS education besides other programs to promote healthy behavior.
- In 2013, the program staff provided education on HIV and related issues to 52,266 youths and was able to test only 2,866 for HIV because of lack of HIV test kits. Of the 2,866 tested, 54 (nearly 2%) were HIV-positive.
In class presentation to high school girls.
External funding for this program has dried up and more funds are needed for increased education, HIV screening, and testing as well as to pay for salaries and transport for program staff. The fight against HIV and AIDS among youth remains a big challenge to several communities in Cameroon and winning this struggle requires collaborative efforts from both partners within and without.
Open air youth education.
Advanced Life Support In Obstetrics (ALSO) and Basic Life Support in Obstetrics (BLSO)
Cameroon has one of the highest maternal and infant mortality rates in the world. CBCHS has been
trying to improve these mortality rates through its ALSO and BLSO programs. The American
Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) Global ALSO Program is designed to train doctors, midwives,
and other maternity nurses in how to definitively manage obstetric emergencies. The course uses
continuously updated manuals, PowerPoint presentations and hands-on work stations with
mannequins. AAFP developed BLSO to train lower-level maternity care providers and First
Responders to evaluate and stabilize women with OB complications and transfer them to referral
facilities. ALSO and BLSO have been established in about 60 countries as of 2022.
ALSO workstation with mannequin to train providers how to deliver a baby that is not in a good position.
In 2012, CBCHS applied to AAFP and became the sole ALSO training institution in Cameroon. It
has subsequently added BLSO. As of February 2022, the CBCHS ALSO/BLSO Program has taught
26 ALSO provider courses, 11 BLSO provider courses, and 10 instructor courses. It has trained 953
providers and 54 Cameroonian licensed ALSO instructors from faith-based, governmental, and
other hospitals and health centers. Providers must pass both written and hands-on exams to become
certified and then take refresher courses every 5 years to maintain their certification. CBCHS
ALSO/BLSO works in close collaboration with the Cameroon Ministry of Health. This lifesaving
program needs funding support to purchase training equipment, pay instructor travel and per diem,
rent training facilities, and cover other program expenses.
The Baptist Institute of Health Sciences (BIHS)
The Baptist Institute of Health Sciences (BIHS) is a nationally recognized educational institution located at Mbingo Baptist Hospital in Cameroon. 
It was initially formed to oversee postgraduate medical training programs including the Pan African Academy of Christian Surgeons (PAACS) surgical residency (paacs.net), the Christian Internal Medicine Specialization (CIMS) residency (https://cbchealthservices.org/CIMS/) and the Head and Neck Fellowship. A Masters of Public Health Program and a BSc program in Physical Therapy was launched this year. The Institute is developing plans to offer other degree programs in nursing, laboratory sciences and medical imaging. The clinical research programs are expanding especially in the area of oncology. There is a great need across sub-Saharan for high quality academic training programs in the health sciences that combine strong didactic teaching with supervised practical experience. The Institute is well placed to deliver high quality training by utilizing up to date teaching methodologies combined with the teaching hospital resources of Mbingo. Contributions to BIHS will enable the development of new programs, underwrite student training and provide support for Mbingo Baptist Hospital’s training and care mission.
CBC Scholarship for Children, Youths with Disability – The goal of the scholarship fund is to increase access to and participation in education for learners living with disabilities in Cameroon, to fulfill our dream of Cameroon where every child is provided an equal opportunity to exploit their full potential in an inclusive world. The World Health Organization estimates that 15% of the world population lives with a disability. There are approximately 1,500,000 disabled children in Cameroon. Disabled children in developing countries usually do not go to school and without an education, they can’t develop their full potential. The CBC has several programs specifically designed for disabled children, youth and adults.
In November, 2020 the CBC launched the CBC Scholarship for Children, Youths with Disability. This “scholarship” is actually separate scholarship funds for common types of disabilities (blindness, deafness, autism, Down’s syndrome, cerebral palsy) to support educational packages for children and adolescents in primary and secondary school.
Inclusive School and Braille Center Kumbo (formerly Kumbo School for the Blind)
This combined boarding and daytime elementary (grades 1 through 6) school, located on the campus
of Banso Baptist Hospital, teaches both blind and low vision students. All students learn Braille, so
need Perkins Braillers. The school has a computerized Braille embosser, donated and programmed
by a blind American teacher, the late Barbara Johnson. The school emphasizes learning
independence, and even some of the totally blind students have gone on to college or found good
jobs. An estimated 60% of students have low vision, rather than total blindness, and need specific
low vision aids and computer software, whereas totally blind students need other types of
equipment. For example, for low vision students, one donor sent 4 closed circuit TVs that greatly
magnify text and can be adjusted to change text and background colors to enable low vision students
to read hardcopy text, and another donor purchased a low vision software called Zoom Text, which
enables low vision students to access and download information from the internet file documents,
and write electronic text. Totally blind students need other types of computer software, such as Jaws
or NVDA. The teachers need ongoing education updates to help them provide optimal education for
both low vision and blindness.
In addition to vision aids and training materials, students need financial support for travel, boarding,
meals, and sports. Your donation of money, computers, or other low vision aids can make a lifetime
of difference for a blind or low vision student.
Mbingo ICU Oxygen and Suction Project
The CBCHS/Mbingo Baptist Hospital is planning to update their ICU and also install a hospital-wide
suction system. The central oxygen system was successfully installed and is now functioning.
The ICU is functioning at a higher level following the return of one of our Internists from critical
care training in India. He has trained our ICU nurses and made other improvements that greatly
improve the care of these critically ill patients. There is a need to purchase additional equipment for
the ICU including additional monitors, new ventilators, more infusion and syringe pumps, and
BIPAP machines.
MBH has successfully installed a hospital-wide oxygen system however funds are still needed for the
vacuum system. The vacuum system is important for the care of patients in the ICU and surgery
units. It will also be used for the care of patients with nasogastric tubes, chest tubes and chronic
wounds. Bedside wall suction is a basic requirement to provide quality hospital care.
HIV/AIDS Programs
Partner Notification Services Partner notification (PN) is widely used in Europe and North America to reduce the spread of infectious diseases; however, it has rarely been used in Africa to reduce HIV transmission. In 2007, the Cameroon Baptist Convention Health Board (CBCHB) began a pilot PN program to reduce HIV incidence. CBCHB has trained 58 health advisers who are now doing HIV PN in Northwest Region (NWR) and Southwest Region (SWR) of Cameroon. They interview index HIV cases about their sexual partners, inform the partners they are at risk for HIV infection without revealing the identity of the index case, pre-test counsel the partners, offer them rapid HIV testing in a medical facility or their home, educate index cases and contacts on HIV prevention and risk reduction, and refer those partners who test positive for care and to HIV support groups. The health advisers include HIV educators, laboratory technicians, clinical nurses and pastors. From August 2007 through December 2010, staff provided PN services to 6,642 persons with newly diagnosed HIV infection. These persons identified 7,200 sex partners, of whom 5,272 (73%) were notified, and 3974 (75%) were counseled and tested at no charge. Of the tested persons, 1991 (54%) were HIV positive, of whom 1211 (61%) were linked to care and treatment. A recent article describes the accomplishments of this innovative program (see Publication page on this website). This program urgently needs funding to continue this clinical/public health intervention that promotes behavior change and antiretroviral treatment to reduce the risk of HIV transmission
PMTCT Program in West and Adamoua regions. In 2011 CBCHS received a large grant for the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that strives to provides services to prevent mother to child HIV transmission to 90% of pregnant women in the Northwest and Southwest Regions of Cameroon. However neither CDC nor Cameroon government funding is available to support PMTCT services in the West or Adamoua regions, and we may have to cut back on the established PMTCT services if additional donations are not forth coming.
CBCHS HIV and AIDS Care and Treatment (C&T) Program– Although antiretroviral medications are provided by the Cameroon government, which receives these drugs from the Global Fund for AIDS, TB, and Malaria, donations are needed to provide all other aspects of C&T for HIV-infected persons, including laboratory tests, treatment for opportunistic infections, transport to C&T centers, intensive counseling, hospitalization, building additional C&T clinic space, and other aspects of care. In 2013, over 15,000 patients were receiving C&T for HIV in CBCHS facilities, and it is anticipated that this number will continue to increase as more people accept HIV testing, learn that they are infected, and seek lifesaving treatment. Over time, the C&T Program will help stop the HIV pandemic by a combination of antiretroviral treatment that makes infected persons far less infective to others and by counseling on behavior change that reduces unsafe sex. CHEF donations have helped to subsidize the costs of care for many patients.
HIV Support Group Program – CBCHS sponsors about 80 adult HIV support groups and 10 children’s support groups in villages and towns in 6 of Cameroon’s 10 regions to assist persons living with HIV by helping organize medical care for them and their families; educating them on nutrition, safer sex, family planning, and other healthy activities; and providing them with microenterprise loans and vocational training. CHEF donations have paid for their transport to monthly meetings and to care and treatment services, travel for CBCHS staff to visit each group, regular laboratory testing, antibacterial prophylaxis to prevent opportunistic infections, and other critical services.
Chosen Children Easter Egg Hunt, April, 2013.
Chosen Children Program – In 2010, 3,462 children were enrolled, 962 of whom received assistance, of whom 45 are living with HIV. Many of the children in this program are orphaned by parents who have died of HIV/AIDS. These children are integrated into the foster families in such a way as they do not receive special treatment, rather they receive similar education and care as the other children in the families receive. Fifty (50%) percent of these donations have been used to support children’s school fees. Almost 30% of these funds have paid the medical fees for children living with HIV/AIDS. The remaining funds are used to pay for basic needs of the children (food and clothing), the caregiver’s workshop to distribute school fees, and the salaries of field workers and staff. Over 3,000 children registered for the program, but there is only enough funding to meet the needs of 800 children. In order to raise awareness about the needs and challenges faced by orphans and vulnerable children, many of whom are also living with HIV/AIDS, a group of these children formed an advocacy team to perform drama, songs, and poetry at community venues in Cameroon. The team has elected leaders to voice their concerns and needs to community leaders. The children and support staff hope these efforts will decrease stigma and discrimination, and raise local funds to support their needs.
Members of the CCP advocacy team sing for other children at a Christmas party.
Nutrition Improvement Program –
Sister Doreen provides nutrition assessment for a malnourished child in the Children’s Ward at Mbingo Hospital, July 2015.
To ameliorate the shortage of human resources in nutrition, the Cameroon Baptist Convention Health Services (CBCHS) started the Nutrition Improvement Program (NIP). Since 2007, NIP has trained and integrated over 30 nutrition counselors into prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV programs, infant welfare, antenatal, diabetes, and HIV care and treatment clinics to improve the nutrition status of children and adults who receive care from CBCHS. NIP is unique because it recruits people who have passed Cameroon’s General Certificate Examination in Food and Nutrition and trains them in evidence-based practices for nutrition counseling and assessment with ongoing supervision by nursing and nutrition supervisors. Nutrition counselors participate in a three-month intensive course covering topics such as infant and young child feeding in the context of HIV; HIV testing and counseling; promotion of exclusive breastfeeding; management of breastfeeding difficulties; proper positioning and attachment to the breast; provision of F75/F100 for malnourished children; preparation and demonstration of supplementing pap (common infant cereal in Cameroon) with soybeans and/or peanut butter; and nutritional management of obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and gout. After the training, counselors are posted to hospitals for a 3-6 month internship. After the internship, if the counselors adequately demonstrate nutrition education, assessment, and counseling skills, they are posted to a CBCHS institution. Mr. Nkuoh Godlove has served as the Program Supervisor since 2007 and Dr. Kate Reinsma as the Technical Advisor since 2013.
Malnutrition Fund – Malnutrition is a difficult and pervasive problem in Cameroon and specifically on the pediatrics ward at Mbingo Baptist Hospital. In Cameroon, nationally a total of 15% of children under five years of age are considered to be moderately or severely underweight, and 32% of children under five are stunted (UNICEF, 2016). Over the past few months, a Malnutrition Fund has been created at Mbingo to raise money to help support malnourished children and their families when admitted to the hospital. The fund is used to help lower the bills of those patients who often have long hospital stays that can be quite expensive and by definition of being malnourished, they are often from incredibly poor families. This is a project that has already proven to be successful over the past few months, but the logistics of running the fund and ensuring adequate financing requires the help of CHEF. There are few patients that need more help than the malnourished children. CHEF aims to strengthen the fund and expand its reach to more children and families through additional donations and support.
CBCHS Tuberculosis (TB) Program – In addition to caring for huge numbers of new TB cases, the CBCHS TB Program is challenged by having to care for individuals with both TB and HIV, which occurs in about half of all TB patients. Additionally, there have been several cases of multi-drug resistant TB, which requires intensive treatment with difficult and expensive drug regimens. CHEF donations have enabled the TB program to improve care for over 1,000 newly diagnosed TB patients each year.
CoMCHA students washing hands with a gong.
Life Abundant Primary Health Care Program: Primary Health Centers (PHCs) begin when villages request CBCHS services, decide on their own priorities for health care, and agree to build their own clinic and to hire and send for training one or more Health Promoters and/or Community Mother-Child Health Aides (CoMCHAs). By determining their own priorities for health care, choosing staff from among local villagers, and paying for the building and staff, the villages truly own their own PHCs, thus promoting sustainability. CoMCHAs provide antenatal care and low-risk deliveries in the PHC, refer higher risk pregnant women to higher level health facilities, care for infants, and provide voluntary counseling and testing for HIV and prophylactic antiretroviral medications to prevent mother-to-child transmission.
The majority of LAP PHCs do not have an adequate light source after dark. With 50% of deliveries occurring during the night, having adequate light impacts the management of the labor and delivery of mothers. This situation is further compromised because many of the PHC delivery areas also have inadequate lighting during the day. What is used in most PHCs is a kerosene lantern which provides limited light. Additionally, the use of kerosene is a known fire hazard and has possible associations with harm to an individual’s health. The quality of labor and delivery care in the PHCs would be improved with adequate lighting provided by a headlamp.
LAP is currently undergoing a headlamp/solar power pack and solar light bulb trial at 6 sites. The goal of the trial is to document that these devices are helpful to the CoMCHA in improving the quality of care to the women and newborns in the PHC. Funding is needed to provide headlamps/power packs and solar light bulbs for the remaining PHCs in LAP, so that once the trial is successfully concluded, the program can begin in the remaining sites.
Other equipment urgently needed at LAP sites include cord clamps, forceps, scissors and a fetoscope.
Delivery room at Nkot Primary Heath Center.
CoMCHA students
CBCHS Women’s Health Program (WHP) – This program was begun in 2007 with several CHEF donations to provide a 4-pronged program which was supported: 1) cervical cancer screening and prevention, 2) family planning, 3) breast cancer screening and referral, and 4) syndromic management of reproductive tract infections (RTIs). As of the end of December 2013, the WHP had served over 30,000 women. Donations are needed for equipment, staffing, screening, treatment, pathology services, GYN consultation, and other aspects of care. WHP has six stationary clinics in CBCHS hospitals and health centers in four regions (out of ten) in Cameroon, plus a mobile clinic that takes services to villages, so that women can receive screening and care near their homes. WHP performs cervical cancer screening using visual inspection with acetic acid(VIA) and visual inspection with Lugol’s iodine(VILI)enhanced by Digital Cervicography (DC), which uses a digital camera fitted with a magnification lens to project greatly-magnified, real-time images of the acetic-acid-stained or Lugol’s iodine-stained cervix onto a TV monitor visible to both client and provider. At the same time, the provider takes a permanent photograph of the cervix and then uploads it to a computer, where it is matched by ID number to the client’s history and physical exam. The photos are used for follow up of patients, training of staff, quality improvement, and distance consultation. VIA and VILI, have been used extensively in India and other developing countries as substitutes for Pap smear, because, in most developing countries, there is inadequate infrastructure to support Pap smear screening, thus rendering Pap smears both unaffordable and inaccessible to most women. DC detects 85-96% of cervical pre-cancers, whereas Pap smears detect only about 50-70%, but DC has more false positives than Pap smears. The cervical changes resulting from application of acetic acid correlate fairly closely to microscopic findings seen on biopsy and thus are used to diagnose pre-cancers, cancers, and other abnormalities. WHP staff treats pre-cancers with cryotherapy (freezing) or loop electrical excision procedure (LEEP) and biopsies lesions that appear potentially cancerous. They refer women with cervical cancer for surgery or radiation therapy.
Staff and volunteers next to the WHP mobile health clinic.
Trainer projects the image of a cervix for a WHP training of medical professionals.
The WHP has been actively seeking more funding through grants to upscale family planning (FP) services and integrate them into antenatal, postpartum, and HIV care and has received a small grant from the US Centers for Disease Control to integrate family planning into HIV services. However, this grant will only cover 2 health facilities for 2 years In the past, USAID has donated some family commodities (methods), but the US government no longer provides these commodities, making it very difficult to get enough to stock clinics. Many women come requesting family planning, but must be turned away, because no commodities are available. Funds are desperately needed to expand staffing and space and to procure commodities to adequately serve these women.
Counseling Program to Address Psychological Trauma –There is dire need for a psychological response program in the conflict-affected areas and the rest of Cameroon where individuals are suffering from trauma, suicide, depression, PTSD, substance abuse, domestic violence, anxiety, withdrawal, loss and other psycho-spiritual problems.
Trauma remains a fundamental problem within communities because amongst many reasons, the victims of trauma do not often find a place to get comprehensive counseling and healing. These trauma situations which include war, torture, forced displacement, human trafficking, gender-based violence and persecution due to identity, sexual orientation, beliefs etc. need to be given attention. Many of these persons often do not know where and how to get help.
This program seeks to meet the needs of traumatized clients through a confidential hotline phone call system. Clients call the Community Counseling Clinic for online and eventual onsite counseling. Once a client calls, his or her call will be received by a Help Desk Manager (HDM). After the client is introduced into the program, the HDM channels the client’s number to a counselor on standby. The counselor will call the client online and eventually onsite in person if needed, and counseling will be carried out. This holistic, psychosocial care will lead to improved health of community members, increase family and community stability, help reintegrate trauma victims within communities, and increase accessibility to mental health services.
Beryl Thyer Memorial Africa Trust (BTMAT)
Dr. Peter McCormick founded BTMAT (Beryl Thyer Memorial Africa Trust) in 2006 with the aim of supporting the treatment of children with cancer at Banso Baptist hospital, N.W. Cameroon – principally the common cancer, Burkitt’s lymphoma (BL). Peter had seen children with this cancer and realised that our Cameroonian colleagues, though doing their best with limited resources, were not achieving good outcomes of treatment.
BTMAT undertakes to source or pay for all medication (chemotherapy and supportive) and to pay the hospital bills of all children treated for cancer under the CBC programme. These bills, which are very small by American or European standards, are beyond the payment ability of Cameroonian parents. The childrens cancer treatment programme later extended to Mbingo Baptist Hospital (MBH) which is now our main centre.
Our clinical director is Prof Peter Hesseling, emeritus professor of Paediatrics and Child Health at Stellenbosch University and Tygerberg Hospital, Cape Town. Prof Peter designed a BL treatment protocol for our use in a resource limited setting – but perhaps more importantly he showed us how to make sure that children stay in hospital for a full course of treatment and how to organise follow-up so that we can know/measure the outcomes of treatment. Our results/outcomes have been published and are amongst the best in sub-Saharan Africa for small hospitals in a resource-limited setting. Programmes for the treatment of Wilms (kidney) cancer and retinoblastoma were initiated in 2007 and 2013 respectively. Our work has recently extended to other cancers including bone cancers and leukaemias but only with greatly increased drug costs. Children come from all over West and central Cameroon for treatment at the 3 Baptist hospitals.
We have contributed to infrastructure most notably with the opening of the first children’s cancer treatment ward at Banso in 2006 and the We Care Parents’ Hostel at Mbingo in 2017. We advised on the design of the new pediatric oncology ward at Mbingo which was opened earlier this year!
Palliative care for children with cancer is one of our major concerns. In 2012 we established a motorbike outreach palliative care service which delivers basic drugs (including morphine) and essential care to children in their own homes. Our motorbike nurse has a range far beyond that of the 4-wheel drive vehicles used by the hospital palliative care service.
There is no concept of cancer in rural Cameroon where the primary diagnosis of village practitioners is often “witchcraft”. We have a vigorous programme of educational outreach to health workers and village practitioners so that they will recognise the early signs of cancer and hopefully refer children to the Baptist hospitals. We have also supported the establishment of parent groups. They are our best advocates for the hospital treatment programme – and will say in pidgin, “This sick be not witchcraft: take pekin for Baptist hospital”.
CBCHS Staff Housing Fund
With the ongoing civil unrest in the Anglophone area of Cameroon, there has been much property destruction around both Mbingo Baptist Hospital and Banso Baptist Hospital. In June, 16 staff families around Mbingo lost their homes and possessions when they were burned as part of the conflict. More recently, 9 staff families lost their homes around BBH during fighting.. For these families, their home and property constitute almost all of the resources they possess so the loss is a tremendous financial stress for them.
Funds collected for this project will be used to support these staff families that have lost their homes by assisting them in rebuilding and re-equiping their homes. The funds will be disbursed through the administration of the hospitals.
Internally Displaced Persons Project
The sociopolitical crisis that started in 2016 as a teacher and lawyer strike has now degenerated into an armed conflict in two of the English speaking regions (NW and SW) of Cameroon where the majority of the Cameroon Baptist Convention Health Service (CBCHS) facilities are found. This conflict has led to the major displacement of hundreds of thousands of people living within the NW and SW regions into other parts of the country, as well as into Nigeria.
This ongoing crisis has had a disastrous effect on the CBCHS facilities and its staff, including the following:
-Most of the CBCHS facilities have noted a huge drop in patient attendance with a corresponding drop in patient fees being collected, and it is the patient fees which pay for the staff salaries.
-Many of the CBCHS facilities have either been destroyed or forced to close.
-Many of the CBCHS staff have suffered physical and psychological injury.
-Many of the CBCHS staff members have lost their homes and all their property when their homes were burned down.
This project would like to help raise funds in order to help alleviate the suffering of some of the innocent victims of this crisis, the staff (and their families) of the CBCHS. The money raised will help pay for medical care, food, clothing and shelter for those in need.
Mbingo Baptist Hospital Indigent Patient Fund
For the past year and especially in the last 6 months there has been increasing instability and violence in the area around the Mbingo Baptist Hospital. Many patients are affected by these issues. The hospital is receiving increasing numbers of patients who have received gunshot wounds as a result of the fighting. Many of these patients are displaced from their homes and have experienced a major drop in their income resulting in their inability to pay for medical care. This is also affecting the financial status of the hospital. Patients are not turned away due to lack of financial resources but when the numbers of indigent patients increases it puts a major strain on the ability of the hospital to continue to provide care.
This project is to raise funds that will be dedicated to assisting patients who are unable to afford their medical care at in Mbingo Baptist Hospital.
Dr. Brown Benevolent Fund
Dr. Jim Brown and his wife began this fund in 2015 at Mbingo Baptist Hospital in Cameroon to
help needy families pay for vital medical care. This fund does not pay out money directly to those people or families in need. Instead, the social worker at Mbingo Baptist Hospital carefully determines which patients/families cannot pay
for their hospitalization/treatment/surgery.
About 90% of the fund goes directly to patient care services for the indigent, which includes,
young families with children, those who need radiation or chemotherapy and cannot afford it and
also those who are recovering after a devastating trauma or illness. The other 10% of the fund
helps pay for medical education courses, which have included a wound care course and
Intensive Care Unit/ICU nursing update).
The Dr. Brown Benevolent Fund is usually used 5-7 times a week to pay for part of a bill of
those who can not pay.
Dr. Jim Brown is the chief of surgery and the PAACS program director at Mbingo Baptist
Hospital. The Dr. Brown Benevolent Fund obtains its funding from family, friends and other
personal support.
Dr. Alexander Baba Gwan-Nulla Benevolent Fund at Banso Baptist Hospital
Drs. Daniel and Meesha Gwan-Nulla established the Dr. Alexander Baba Gwan-Nulla benevolent fund at Banso Baptist Hospital (BBH) to honor the legacy of Dr. Alexander Baba Gwan-Nulla, a pioneering and compassionate Cameroonian physician. During his more than 50 years of service to the people of Cameroon, he provided benevolent care, mentored and sponsored the education of many Cameroonians.
The goal of this fund is to demonstrate the love of Christ by providing financial assistance to indigene patients at BBH who cannot afford to pay for the cost of their care. Locally, the fund is managed by CBCHS/BBH administrative staff.
Dr. Daniel Gwan-Nulla, son of the late Dr. Alexander Baba Gwan-Nulla, is a cardiothoracic surgeon. His wife, Dr. Meesha Gwan-Nulla is an internist. They reside in Columbus, GA.
CONSTRUCTING HEALTH FACILITIES
Banso Baptist Hospital Surgical Theater and Intensive Care Unit Expansion Project:
Banso Baptist Hospital (BBH) was established nearly 70 years ago in 1949 with just 20 beds. It has since grown to a capacity of 315 beds with over 650 staff. Each month, nearly 8,000 patients are seen, and 800 surgeries are carried out in the current four operating rooms. These surgeries range from general surgery to specialized surgery in OB/GYN; ear, nose and throat; dental; orthopedics; and ophthalmic surgery.
The three operating rooms in the existing surgical suite are simply insufficient to meet the needs, and surgeries are routinely delayed because of lack of operating theater space.
After carefully reviewing present and future needs and design possibilities, a consultative committee developed a realistic design for an expanded surgical theater and intensive care unit (ICU). The final completed plan is to have six surgical theaters in addition to one contaminated theater, a conference room, recovery room, male and female changing rooms and a dedicated doctors’ room with controlled access from the outside only through the conference room to restrict traffic through the unit. If adequate funding can be obtained, an ICU will be constructed.
The plan involves at least three-four stages:
Stage 1: First, expansion wing of the existing building will be constructed which will hold two new operating theaters and an enlarged new preparation and sterilizing room. When this is operational, the existing sterilizing room will be converted into another operating room.
Stage 2: Supporting rooms, a waiting room and recovery room would be renovated. This will involve demolition of the operating theater that has been dedicated in the past to Ophthalmology. One of those new operating theaters is intended to be dedicated to Ophthalmology at the completion of this second stage.
Stage 3: The third stage of the project will involve some demolition and renovation of the some of the existing corridors, the sanitary room and a storage facility.
Stage 4: If funds can be obtained, a general ICU will be constructed that will be attached to part of the wing that currently houses the old “private” ward of the hospital which will be partly used for this OR expansion.
Estimated costs: Cost for the construction of the six surgical theaters (stages 1-3) is estimated at approximately $43,000 (about 25,000,000 CFA in local currency); this does not include the equipping costs for the additional theaters.
Cost for the construction of the ICU (stage 4) is estimated at approximately $26,000 (12,000,000 CFA in local currency).
The BBH staff are enthusiastic to begin this essential construction work. Partial funding has already been identified; your contributions and support will help bring this project into reality.
The Mbingo Radiotherapy Project
The management of patients with cancer at Mbingo
Baptist Hospital (MBH) has improved rapidly over the
past decade. Surgery has been available for diagnosis
and definitive treatment for many patients coming to
Mbingo for treatment. Medical oncology and full time
pathology services were also started. Mbingo hospital
has invested in improved laboratory and imaging
facilities including advanced chemistry and immunology laboratory equipment and a new imaging center that
includes a CT scanner and elastography. All these developments have improved the scope and quality of
the medical treatment for patients with cancer and has resulted in many more patients coming
to MBH for care.
Currently, there are no well-developed integrated cancer treatment centers in our region and
radiotherapy is generally not available. Many patients with cancer in Cameroon and the
surrounding countries are unable to obtain a diagnosis of their disease or access adequate
treatment that offers a chance for cure. Radiotherapy is virtually not available to patients due to
the lack of availability or cost. Many patients, but especially women with cervical or advanced
breast cancer and patients with head and neck cancer will benefit from the introduction of
radiotherapy at Mbingo.
We propose to expand and develop the Mbingo Cancer Center by installing a linear accelerator
which will allow patients to receive radiotherapy, building a cancer center building to house all
of the clinics dealing with our cancer patients, building hostels for the radiotherapy patients to
stay in during their six week treatment period and relocating older staff housing to allow space
for the hostels to be constructed.
Mutengene Trauma Center
Road traffic injuries (RTIs) are a leading cause of death and disability in sub- Saharan Africa. According to the World Health Organization, road traffic deaths reached 6,136, or 27.6 deaths per 100,000 population, ranking Cameroon 21st in the world (WHO, 2013).
Despite the heavy burden of trauma cases, Cameroon does not have a single specialized trauma center; all emergency trauma cases are looked after at regional hospitals with limited specialized capacity for trauma cases.
The goal of this project is to reduce mortality, disabilities and morbidity resulting from trauma by improving access to emergency care for trauma victims at Baptist Hospital Mutengene, which is strategically located along the busy Douala-Limbe highway in the Southwest region of Cameroon. The establishment of a Post Injury Trauma Care Center will greatly improve on the management of trauma victims in the region via four main objectives:
- Improving access to emergency medical care for trauma victims
- Providing high-quality, standard trauma care
- Reducing disability, morbidity, and mortality from trauma; and
- Improving knowledge, documentation, and reporting of trauma cases.
The Baptist Hospital Mutengene is currently a 98 bed non-profit hospital. It has served the de facto referral center for trauma care seeing more than 1,000 trauma cases a year.
The completed facility will provide a center for teaching and research in trauma, allowing both local and foreign trauma or orthopedics residents and faculty to visit, work and teach.
This first phase of the project involves the construction of the ground floor of the 5-story trauma center and equipping the ground floor with 45 beds including a six-bed intensive care unit; reception and triage; an observation, resuscitation, and stabilization ward; an imaging unit with digital x-ray and ultra sound; two operating theatres; and consultation rooms.
The second phase will be to raise the remaining floors to accommodate a permanent ICU, 50 beds, a physiotherapy and pediatric rehabilitation unit; and a research, training, and medical records center. The third phase of the project will be the construction of a five-story staff housing unit on the hospital grounds to provide safe and comfortable accommodations for onsite and visiting surgeons and resident doctors.
Impact of the Post-Injury Trauma Center:
The center will significantly reduce patient waiting time to surgery, increase the volume of patients receiving standard care, provide training as a tertiary referral center for resident doctors and nursing personnel in both government and non- government training programs, and contribute to the overall health delivery system of the country.
To complete the first phase of the project and get the center running, an estimated $450,000 is needed.
The hospital has already pledged $100,000 to start the project. In addition, the hospital will leverage its existing partners to facilitate the donation of equipment.
Ophthalmology Inpatient Eye Ward and Theatre, Mutengene Baptist Hospital – In April 2012 Cameroon received new state-of-the-art equipment allowing for anterior and posterior ophthalmic surgery. This new equipment allowed for the first posterior vitrectomy for retinal disease to be performed in the country. The Cameroon Baptist Convention (CBC) is in the process of constructing a new medical building on the existing Baptist Hospital Mutengene (BHM) grounds that will greatly increase medical care particularly ophthalmology services to the region. Currently BHM houses, among other things, an outpatient eye unit as well as a single operating theatre, which must serve all the surgical services associated with the hospital. This single operating theatre greatly hampers the number of ophthalmic cases that can be performed. The new construction will have an entire floor devoted to ophthalmology services; mainly an in-patient ward and surgical theatre.
Historically many organizations have worked to address Cameroon’s health and eye care needs as well as medical infrastructure. The ophthalmology focus has been on cataracts, river blindness, trachoma, and glaucoma. Sources state the doctor patient ratio in Cameroon to be 1 to 12,500 or higher. Among U.S. health care professionals, it is estimated that at least 1 retina specialist is needed per 100,000 people. Currently in Cameroon there are 60 general ophthalmologists (0.3 per 100,000 people) with only 20% of those involved in surgical ophthalmology. A 2005 article in the Community Eye Health Journal found a total of just 2 ophthalmologists per 1.2 million populations in Cameroon’s South West Province. The article also stated that “Tertiary eye services (retinal detachment surgery, diabetic retinopathy laser photocoagulation, pediatric surgery, etc.) are not provided by any of the eye units in the South West Province.”
Due to the great success of the growing ophthalmology and retina services made possible by the CBC, BHM, Dr. Emmanuel Tambe and dedicated staff, funds are needed for BHM’s new construction.
Project goals include:
- Completing the new in-patient eye unit allowing for increased surgical services to the larger population centers of Douala, Mutengene and Yaoundé,
- Procuring diagnostic equipment such as fluorescein angiography, ocular coherence tomography, and ophthalmic ultrasound for patient triage and optimal visual outcome, and
- Spearheading improved management of patient records to include electronic medical records allowing for the future possibility of telemedicine outreach.
Ophthalmology Clinic and Low Vision Program, Banso Baptist Hospital –
For the last several years the CHEF Fund has supported the ongoing Ophthalmology Clinic construction at the Banso Baptist Hospital at Kumbo. The ground floor of the clinic has been in use for the last several years but the upper floors were not yet built. In 2014 there were sufficient funds to start the construction of those upper floors. Money for the roof did not become available until 2015. The photos are from July 2014 showing the skeleton of the complete building with no roof. In August 2015 the new roof is shown in place making the building dry during the rainy season. The completion of those two upper floors remains to be done, the first floor is planned to be the inpatient ward for the postoperative eye patients. The top floor is intended to be a new ward for private patients.
