Steps are being taken by the Ministry of Higher Education to improve the quality of medical experts trained in the public and private sectors in the country.

The Minister of Higher Education, Professor Jacques Fame Ndongo, yesterday, October 8, 2015 in Yaounde handed to heads of State and private institutions of medical training the harmonized curriculum in the fields of general medicine, pharmacist and dental surgery.

This was during a meeting of the National Commission for the Training of Medical Personnel in Cameroon. The Minister said the harmonized programme is aimed at ending cacophony in the training of medical personnel as well as creating maximum characteristics which will raise the standard of medical training in Cameroon to meet international norms.

While chairing the commission, the Minister of Higher Education, who is also its president stressed the need for different faculties to develop and valorise African medicine and pharmaceutical products which will bring out the genius amongst Africans. Prof. Jacques Fame Ndongo said as of now, there is no visibility in the sector and he wants that each State university reinforces or creates the department of African medicine with a team of its choice.

Besides creating such a department, the Minister of Higher Education told experts to focus on research based on plants in the country so as to identify the curative and preventive aspects of the medicine as well as its dosage and side effects. Experts are also required to carry out research on the presentation of traditional medicines which could be in tablet, gel or ampoule form.

So far, Prof. Fame Ndongo said teaching and research procedures taking place in the higher education sector falls within national and international norms. But the loophole according to Fame Ndongo is that graduates from the higher education sector are not able to contribute to the development of the country since training does not adapt to the specificities of the society.

The heads of the different commission charged with coming up with the harmonised programme said they took into consideration the realities of the country such as local epidemics and other health issues common in the African continent.