The Northwest Regional Delegate of Public Health Dr. Ambe Lionel has openly expressed his satisfaction with the successes recorded by the HIV Free Northwest project of the CBC Health Services. He made his appraisal during a Regional Feedback Meeting on Site Improvement through Monitoring System (SIMS) Supervision that took place on June 26, 2015. The SIMS meeting that brought together top stakeholders in the HIV response in the region was a forum to deliver findings of the Site Supervision that ran from June 11 – 20, 2025.
He appreciated teams for braving all odds and visiting all 37 PEPFAR supported sites in the Northwest Region to make an indebt assessment of the quality of services and make recommendations through a SWOT analysis. The Regional Delegate was exceptionally happy with the involvement and collaboration exhibited by the District Chief Medical Officers and heads of Health Facilities in the implementation of the activities, an act that contributed to the high score recorded by the Northwest Region in several indicators assessed.
He recognized the dedication of the health workforce in the region stipulating his admiration in their continuous strive to always implement the policies of the Ministry of Public health especially with HIV, which stands out as one of the core interventions within the first phase of Universal Health Coverage. Dr. Ambe used the occasion to express gratitude to the Minister of Public Health in Cameroon for ensuring the availability of necessary resources for better service delivery. There is the dire need to “provide quality services for People Living with HIV by breaking transmission and putting an end to HIV epidemic in the Northwest Region and the entire country”, he admonished.
District Chief Medical Officers and Heads of Health Facilities were charged to introduce all recommended activities geared towards HIV epidemic control as a routine in their respective areas of jurisdiction and administration. Dr. Ambe reiterated the need for all facilities to take all recommendations and suggestions following the presentations of findings from all sites and effectively implement them. The expectation is to have all activities across all implementing sites record 100% during the net SIMS, he stated firmly. Addressing the Regional Technical Group (RTG) there represented by the RTG Coordinator Dr. Jude Berinyuy, he charged them with the responsibility of follow up to assure the implementation of recommendations.
The partnership of the CBC Health Services he admitted has contributed a lot to the collective goal of putting an end to the HIV epidemic in the Northwest Region and by extension #Cameroon at large. The goal to achieve epidemic control by 2030 he reminded stakeholders, remains the same and all hands continue to be on deck to realize this desired goal.
The Coordinator for the Regional Technical Group Dr. Jude Berinyuy acknowledged PEPFAR for the financial and technical support through CDC that enabled the supervision activity to be carried out. He observed the more than 95% physical visitation of sites in hard-to-reach communities amidst the current security situation in the Northwest Region, and reaffirmed it as testimony to the zeal and the desire to render services to all in need albeit challenges faced.
Monitoring remains an important milestone in the implementation of projects and the HIV Free Project prioritizes this activity since inception to evaluate implementation and use results and findings to guide future plans and response strategies. This move has across the years yielded fruits with the project recording remarkable successes, creating best practices and becoming a model in HIV response in several instances. The meeting ended with awards to all deserving stakeholders, staff and facilities.