ACMS organised a ceremony to reward service providers on December 13, 2013 in Yaounde.

Over 10 private health centres, a dozen contraception service providers and several community relay agents, on Friday December 13, 2013, received prizes worth over FCFA 10 million for their efforts in promoting the use of contraceptives in 2013.

The laureates are members of the ProFam reproductive health and family health network set up by the non-governmental organisation, Cameroonian Social Marketing Association (ACMS) under its Women's Health Project (WHP) in the Centre, Littoral, North West and North Regions. The prizes comprised sterilisers, TV sets, refrigerators and other equipment.

Speaking during the ceremony, the representative of the Executive Director of ACMS, Dr Jean Christian Youmba, said the situation of reproductive and family health in Cameroon is preoccupying. Maternal mortality is high and estimated at 782 deaths per 100,000 live births while the rate of use of contraceptives is 14 per cent. A situation which he argued is due to insufficient family planning services nationwide.

Hence, the initiative by ACMS to set up a family planning programme through the ProFam network in a bid to support efforts by government. "We count immensely on service providers of the ProFam network to reverse the trend and increase the use of modern family planning methods in 2014," he said.

For the Sub-Director of Family Health, Dr Grace Alake, representing the Minister of Public Health, reproductive health in general and family planning, in particular, constitute the priority of the Ministry of Public Health. While urging the laureates to double efforts, she said government counts on development partners such as ACMS and private health centres to increase the use of contraceptives in Cameroon and implement the Ministry's campaign to accelerate the reduction of maternal mortality that was launched in May 2013.

ACMS is a non-governmental organisation launched in 1996 to promote family health and contraceptives as well as protection against sexually-transmitted infections and HIV/AIDS.