It will allow the Cameroonian lambda to escape sanitary precariousness. The relevance and feasibility of this insurance are no longer to be demonstrated. So, it’s time to make a significant step forward by putting it in place. We can no longer continue to manage our most valuable asset-health-as well. I can no longer count the number of Cameroonian children, men and women that I have seen die in ten years for lack of sufficient means to seek treatment. Certainly, you will say, poverty is not a peculiarity Cameroon and this hospital boat makes stops in many other countries. But comparison is not right, especially in a country as well endowed with human resources as ours. Half a century after our independence we can not rejoice to evacuate patients suffering from hernias, goitre or cleft palate. Indeed, medical evacuation is the solicitation of a foreign expertise for problems that can not be solved locally. In this case, the Government is bringing this expertise to Cameroon, of course, but they will be technically operated on foreign soil in a foreign vessel. A whole symbol. Both for this mission and for the thousands of cases we evacuate every year, I would like to assure you, Mr. Minister, that in most cases, local expertise exists. The technical plateau is sometimes lacking. Give us the means to do our job properly and you, your family and all Cameroonians will be able to treat themselves in Cameroon at a lower cost.

That, Mr. Spokesman of the Government, was what a humble Cameroonian doctor had in mind to tell you that day. I rely on your usual verve to give me a clear and straightforward answer.

I look forward to receiving your reply. Yours sincerely,

Valentin FOKOUO

1 May 2017

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