The UNFPA has formally handed over a new consignment of lifesaving Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) and Gender-Based Violence (GBV) emergency kits to the CBC Health Services to strengthen health service delivery in some of the most hard-to-reach, conflict-affected communities of the North West and South West Regions.
The supplies—comprising Minimum Initial Service Package (MISP) kits, Inter-Agency Emergency Reproductive Health (IARH) Kit 3 for Clinical Management of Rape (CMR), family planning commodities, emergency obstetric supplies, newborn care materials, and essential medicines—were handed over by UNFPA SRH Expert, Dr. Sam Auguste, in the presence of Mrs. Kiawi Sarah, SRH Focal Person at the South West Regional Delegation of Public Health. The CBCHS delegation, led by Mrs. Yong Blessing, Project Coordinator, received the items on behalf of the five project-supported CBCHS health facilities and four partner District Hospitals.
Strengthening Lifesaving Services in Crisis Zones
These essential kits will be distributed proportionately across nine project facilities situated in communities severely affected by displacement, insecurity, and limited access to healthcare. The beneficiary CBCHS facilities—Ndu, Finkwi, Ashong, Ekondo Titi, and Kumba—and District Hospitals supported through CERF and Canada—Binka, Baba I, Njungo, and Mamfe—serve populations that have endured years of disrupted services due to ongoing conflict.
The newly supplied kits are designed to save lives and restore dignity by enabling frontline health workers to:
- Provide free emergency obstetric care for complicated deliveries
- Manage cases of sexual violence using internationally approved CMR protocols
- Ensure timely family planning counselling and method provision
- Deliver newborn resuscitation and essential neonatal care
- Address reproductive health emergencies under the MISP guidelines
- Respond rapidly to maternal health complications to prevent deaths and disability
These interventions are vital in regions where long distances, insecurity, and destroyed health infrastructure continue to expose women and girls to preventable risks.
High Impact Expected for Vulnerable Communities
The arrival of these supplies builds on the recent intensive training of midwives and medical practitioners on GBV case management, emergency obstetric care, mental health, and psychosocial support — ensuring that the drugs and kits will be used effectively, ethically, and at no cost to the populations most in need.
With these additional resources, communities can expect:
- Safer deliveries, even for high-risk pregnancies
- Improved management of rape survivors, including emergency contraception, STI prophylaxis, PEP, and psychosocial support
- Reduced maternal and newborn deaths due to better-equipped facilities
- Increased access to family planning reducing unplanned pregnancies in crisis areas
- Enhanced referral pathways and continuity of care
CBCHS facilities report that demand for these services continues to grow as communities regain trust in health services and learn that care is available free of charge through UNFPA support.
A Demonstration of Donor Commitment to Protecting Women and Girls
The handover reaffirms UNFPA’s commitment—and that of donors such as ECHO, CERF, and the Government of Canada—to ensuring that no woman or girl is left without lifesaving SRH and GBV services, regardless of where she lives.
Speaking during the handover, CBCHS Project Coordinator Mrs. Yong Blessing expressed deep appreciation for the timely support, noting that the kits will “greatly strengthen service delivery capacity in facilities that receive hundreds of vulnerable women and girls every month.”
This latest supply marks another milestone in the ongoing UNFPA–CBCHS project, “Delivering Lifesaving Integrated and Holistic GBV and SRH Services to Women and Girls in Hard-to-Reach Conflict-Affected Localities in the NW/SW Regions of Cameroon.” Together, these efforts continue to deliver hope, restore dignity, and save lives in communities where the need remains profound.
