CBM’s CEO commends CBC Health Services’ concern for Clubfoot Care Beneficiaries
Dr. Rainer Brockhaus, CEO (Chief Executive Officer) of CBM (Christian Blind Mission) Worldwide has commended the Cameroon Baptist Convention (CBC) Health Services’ work in preventing disabilities from Clubfoot in Cameroon. This was during a visit to the Clubfoot Clinic at Ekoumdoum Baptist Hospital, Yaoundé on September 12, 2022.
“I wanted to be here in this hospital because it’s super important for us to understand what’s relevant for partner organizations, how they do their work, and what’s working or not,” emphasized Dr. Rainer.
The choice to visit a clubfoot clinic was not by error. CBM has a long-standing partnership with the CBC Health Services in the domain of correcting clubfoot deformity, which dates back as 2014 under the umbrella of the Cameroon Clubfoot Care Project (CCCP). Mr. Tamon James, National Coordinator of CCCP says the initiative has thus far had 2048 children with clubfoot deformity corrected through a treatment model called, the Ponseti technique.
“Beside the milestones achieved in correcting clubfoot, the project has gone a step ahead to engage government to approve the Ponseti Technique as a gold standard for treating clubfoot,” he said.
Dr. Rainer, after seeing things for himself, says “It is amazing how the CBC Health Services through the clubfoot programme, changes the lives of persons with disabilities – small children who could not walk if their clubfoot was not treated. Now, they can start playing, doing sports and growing into active members of the society because it was done. What I have seen in this hospital is high level of professionalism and of care – it’s not just about technical professionality but also that everyone here makes sure they do not only treat the disease but treat the person as a human being.”
“I enjoy seeing the work you do here. I’ve seen so much passion in what you’re doing and it conveys the concern you have for the individuals and beneficiaries of your work. Thank you, the CBM CEO remarked.
Speaking at the event, Prof. Tih Pius Muffih, Director of CBC Health Services said the visit symbolized the extraordinary relationship CBM and the CBC Health Services has shared over the years in disability work. “It is a partnership that has stood the test of time and is characterized by trust, accountability, compassion for the poor above all, the love for God,” he said.
Through CBM’s investment in training midlevel nurses in eyecare, physio-rehabilitation, ENT (Ear, Nose and Throat) and mental health, we are able to provide primary healthcare in communities with no health facility for the population to rely on. In addition to health, through CBM’s support in education, economic empowerment, social inclusion, gender and child protection, we’ve led remarkable changes both in policy and services delivery in the lives of thousands of adolescences with disabilities and their families. Despite these achievements, we are exploring and developing new opportunities to provide quality healthcare in areas void of basic services, he added.
Prof Tih told Dr. Rainer, “Ekoumdoum, for example, where you are now, indigenes have travelled over 1000 kilometres to see a secondary eye hospital. To manage this situation, we aspire to construct and equip an eye hospital here which will serve approximately 1.000.000 people from neighbouring communities. We have no doubt that CBM will accompany us in all of these”.
