Doctors Without Borders: Activities suspended in North West Cameroon_09-08-21

After close to a year of suspension, the team of medics operating under the auspices of Doctor Without Borders, DWB has finally left the crisis hit North West Region of Cameroon.

DWB in their over two years of presence in the region provided lifesaving medical care to emergency cases and survivors of Gender Based Violence, GBV in the region which amid the Anglophone crisis.

In their humanists approach, DWB provided healthcare services to all who needed their services including surgeries free of charge to community members battered by the 4-year Anglophone stalemate.

The communiqué that pronounced the departure of DWB, August 2, acknowledges the huge lifesaving gap their departure has created. “This suspension significantly reduces access to medical services in an area where communities are badly affected by armed violence,” Emmanuel Lampaert, DWB’s operations coordinator for Central Africa said in the communiqué that announced their departure.

“We cannot stay any longer in a region where we are not allowed to provide care to people here. We cannot keep our staff on standby any longer, so we have no choice but to withdraw our teams » Lampaert furthered.

During their stay in the restive North West, DWB spared no efforts to penetrate communities providing healthcare services amid gun battles and accusations from both sides of the conflict.

The outfit until the suspension of its operations on December 8, 2020, came to the assistance of 180 survivors of sexual violence, provided 1,725 mental health consultations, performed 3,272 surgeries, and transported 4,407 patients by ambulance, more than 1,000 of whom were women about to give birth.

The denial by government to lift the ban on DWB’s activities in the North West is no doubt connected to government’s quest for information about separatist fighters they assisted during the crisis; a request DWB denied it soils their professionalism.

“Since 2018, we have witnessed numerous attacks and acts of intimidation against healthcare facilities, and MSF was not spared from this. While we are now forced to withdraw our teams, we call on all parties to the crisis to respect healthcare providers, whether they are members of non-governmental organisations or the Ministry of Health. Any threats or violence against them or their patients is unacceptable », the communiqué reads.

Calling on other organisations step in to continue efforts at saving lives, DWB paints a glimpse of hope.

We hope that the provision of medical humanitarian assistance to everyone, without distinction, will still be possible. The people are paying a very heavy price for this situation. If the authorities decide to lift our suspension, we will resume our medical activities as soon as possible », Lampaert posits, assuring that « …we will keep a small liaison office in Bamenda, the regional capital, to continue our dialogue with the authorities ».

UN statistics have it that the violence in the English-Speaking Regions of Cameroon has pushed more than 700,000 people to flee their homes, over 60,000 have fled to neighbouring Nigeria. Over 1.4 million people are considered in need of humanitarian support in North West and South West Cameroon.

Wifah Jennyhans
https://sillonpanafricain.net