The Minister of Livestock, Fisheries and Animal Industries, MINEPIA, Dr. Taïga, has called on Cameroonians to eat only meat and fish products that have been duly inspected and declared fit for consumption by veterinary doctors, as part of efforts to effectively bar the way to the Ebola fever.

Dr. Taïga made the call in Yaounde on September 3, 2014 during a ceremony to hand over tricycles and vans specialised in the transportation of meat from slaughter houses to markets in some councils in the country.

The City Councils that benefitted from the donation of a van each are Bamenda, Maroua, Ebolowa and Garoua. Sub-divisional Councils that were given specialised tricycles for the transportation of beef, pork and meat of other small ruminants are the Dziguilao, Bafoussam I, Nkambe, Maroua III, Oku, Douala II, Douala IV, Douala V, Sangmelima and Yaounde IV Councils.

The Livestock Development Corporation known by its French acronym as SODEPA received two vans in addition to one which was handed to the institution in 2012 for the pilot phase of the project. The Cameroon Fisheries Development Mission, MIDEPECAM, received one of the vans expected to ply the coastal areas of Bamusso, Idenua, Limbe, Mouanko and Kribi.

“I want to indicate that this operation will continue with the acquisition of seven new vans for the urban councils of Limbe, Nkongsamba, Bafoussam, Ngaoundere, Buea, Edea and Kribi. The cost of the operation that has brought us here today with the objective of improving the quality of beef supplied to Cameroonian consumers is estimated at more than FCFA 500 million,” Dr. Taïga disclosed.

He highlighted the mission of MINEPIA as contained in the September 14, 2012 text reorganising the Ministry, saying that, within the chain of food security from animal production to consumption, there is the risk of exposing the food items to biological agents and chemical substances that could endanger the consumer.

Dr. Taïga therefore talked of the reintroduction of stamping of inspected meat in slaughter houses in Cameroon since 2013; the equipping of councils with meat and fish transportation vans as well as the building of capacities of stakeholders in the sector such as veterinary agents, butchers, etc, as moves to ensure the protection of Cameroonian consumers.

In appreciating the donation of the beef transportation vans to the City Councils, the Government Delegate to the Bamenda City Council, Vincent Ndumu, said the move is consistent with efforts to get Cameroon holistically emerge by 2035. He assured the Minister that the vans would be put to proper use in order to satisfy the needs of the population. He also promised, on behalf of other beneficiary Government Delegates, that the vans would receive proper and regular maintenance.

Speaking on behalf of his colleagues in the country, the Chief Butcher of Yaounde, El Hadj Yaya Ahmadou, described the donation as the first ever in the history of their profession.

“This is a testimony that what we are doing as butchers is being recognised. Proper hygienic condition is a watchword in this noble profession of ours and the availability of these specialised vans will help enhance the food safety efforts. We strongly believe that with these measures, Ebola will not pass through our activities,” El Hadj Yaya, who is also a 3rd Class Chief in the Briqueterie neighbourhood, declared.

The Ebola fever is a deadly disease caused by a virus, which causes internal parts of the body to lose blood and usually ends in death. Over the weekend, WHO announced that 3,500 people have been infected, so far, especially in some West African countries by the virus and of this figure, 1,900 have been declared dead.