The handing-over ceremony took place in Yaounde on Thursday, January 22, 2015.

The newly elected executive of the National Council of the Pharmaceutical Society of Cameroon is now in place. It took over at a ceremony on January 22, 2015, at the Tsinga, Yaounde headquarters of the Council. The elections were held in Yaounde on January 18, 2015.

The new executive is expected to be installed in the days ahead by the Minister of Public Health, Andre Mama Fouda. The team is made up of Dr Hiag Prosper as President, Ampoam Christophe as Vice President, Pola Yissibi Emilienne as Secretary General, with Kima Tessa Sona as Treasurer.

Dr Hiag, who replaces Dr Therese Abong Bwemba, was previously Vice President in the former leadership. The holder of a PhD in Pharmacy from the University of Paul Sabatier, Toulouse, France, Dr Hiag Prosper, 57, says his priority is to acquire land and construct a headquarters for the society.

His administration will pursue the war against illicit and counterfeit drugs and secure insurance cover for members with the National Social Insurance Fund. The Council also plans to lobby for the creation by government of a National Committee for the Fight Against Illicit Drugs.

It will also work for the amendment of national legislation on the practice of the pharmacy profession in Cameroon in order to allow practitioners in regional headquarters extend their services to divisions without them. As at now, some 1,025 pharmacists are registered in the country, though only 485 actually operate – the rest having died, retired or travelled abroad.