The over 80 years Abong-Mbang District Hospital in the Upper-Nyong Division of the East Region has received an attractive makeover thanks to a woman with a “Good Heart”.

The First Lady of Cameroon, Mrs Chantal Biya has renovated and equipped the district hospital that was in an advanced state of dilapidation with obsolete medical equipment.

On July 17, the Minister of Public Health, André Mama Fouda presided over the inauguration of the refurbished hospital which will provide quality medical care to over 70,000 inhabitants in the locality. While receiving the “special jewel” from the First Lady of the Republic, the Director of the Abong-Mbang District Hospital, who is also the lone medical doctor in the hospital, Dr Denis Nsame said the hospital which was created in the 1930s by a French medical doctor, late Colonel Eugéne Jamot and later transformed into a district hospital in 1995 has never gotten any major rehabilitation.

The hospital, which occupies a surface area of six hectares, was covered with turf. Dr Denis Nsame explained how the old colonial buildings were falling apart and some completely without roof and walls. By 2009, amongst the 23 buildings that constituted the hospital, only 13 could provide minimal services to patients such as the Emergency Service, Internal Medicine Blocks, Paediatric and Maternity Services as well as the Surgical Block.

Dr Denis Nsame said in 2010, a new dawn began for the hospital when the First Lady initiated renovation works to completely change the structure. Today, inhabitants and medical personnel of the Abong-Mbang District Hospital are happy to see 25 buildings, which now constitute the hospital structure, all restored and equipped to meet modern standards in medicine.

Within four years, Dr Denis Nsame said the First Lady has physically and technically transformed all the services of the hospital such as the Emergence Unit, Internal Medicine Service, Surgical Ward, HIV Treatment Centre, Laboratories, Post Mortem Block, Radiology and Tele Medicine Units.

Today, the population of Abong-Mbang can boast of new Ultra-Sound Machine (Echography) which will permit patients to be properly diagnosed before treatment. With the Tele-Medicine Centre, people in Abong-Mbang can consult a medical specialist in Yaounde or elsewhere through Information and Communication Technology.

The First Lady also ensured the security of Abong-Mbang population while in the hospital through the construction of a fence. This will not only protect patients from thieves but also heavy duty trucks which had transformed the main passage into the hospital to their main gateway in and out of Abong-Mbang.

Apart from the renovation work, the hospital and other health units in the area also received special gifts from Mrs Chantal Biya such as new hospital beds, surgical tables, incubators, microscopes, electrophorese machine to check sickle cells, paediatric beds, boreholes for proper drinking water amongst other equipment.

The Director of the Hospital said between 2009 to date, consultation has increased from 2,000 to 5,000 while hospitalisation has also doubled. Several dignitaries during the inauguration hailed the kind gesture of the First Lady towards the needs of all Cameroonians.

The Mayor of Abong-Mbang said “The renovated buildings are a mark of affection from the First Lady, our daughter, towards her brothers and sisters in the East Region.”

A delegation from the Circle of Friends of Cameroon (CERAC) amongst whom, it’s General Coordinator, Linda Yang, a delegation from the Chantal Biya Foundation, the Chantal Biya International Reference Centre for Research on HIV/AIDS Prevention and Management joined elite in the area amongst whom Joseph Le, Assistant Director at the Civil Cabinet of the Presidency and the population to receive the ideal gifts from Mama “Chantal Biya”.