Dr. Mbah Richard: Cameroonian Health Personalities

Dr. Mbah Richard is a 53 year old Cameroonian Medical Doctor who was trained in the Cameroonian Medical School referred to at the time as CUSS (University Center for Health Sciences) in Yaounde. He worked with the Cameroon Ministry of Public Health for twenty years in a series of Public Hospitals before retiring from the Public Sector. He was subsequently employed as Deputy Medical Coordinator for Medecins Sans Frontier Cameroon where he worked for a year. When he quit his employers, Dr. Mbah threw his efforts behind the Care Center Clinic in Bambalang in the Ngoketunja Division. According to the medical personality, his present efforts are now focused on providing quality Health Services to the community where he hails from and to Cameroonians at large.

Dr Mbah Richard

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Initiatives…..

Bambalang Care Center Clinic

“We have carried out 300 successful surgical operations in two years”

“The hospital is situated in Bambalang, one of the villages around Ndop, Capital of Ngoketunja Division in the Northwest Region of Cameroon. It started functioning in July 2015. The services that we offer to the populations range from Mother and Child Care where Preventive Vaccinations and deliveries are offered. We also have Medical and Paramedical Services like surgery. For these two years we have carried out 300 successful operations at Care Center Clinic. We equally have a very good laboratory where we carry out blood transfusions also. We have the Ultra Sound or Imagery Department. Now, we are mainly operating with Ultra Sound normally called Ecography. We also have the Dental Department including other basic health services like internal Medicine, Pediatric services, gynecology, and obstetrics amongst others.

Care Center Clinic is certainly one of the high points on the health service landscape in Ngoketunja Division. How do patients get here?

It depends on where you are. If you are in Bamenda you simply need to take a car to Ndop but just before Ndop you stop at a popular place called Bamali Junction. From here you can use all the available means of transport at the junction to get to the Bambalang Care Center Clinic. If you are from Kumbo or from Bui or anywhere beyond that, you simply shuttle to Ndop and a little bit after Ndop you stop at Bamale Junction and get to Bambalang Care Center Clinic from there. There is equally another road to the Bambalang Care Clinic from Ndop which cuts through the rice farms depending on whether the earth road is dry or wet.

How convenient is Bambalang for a sick person seeking comfort and quality treatment?

Bambalang has a very conducive climate because of its moderate nature. It’s neither too hot nor too cold and provides the best sort of climate for patients. You have very good and modern buildings all around and even lodging facilities in the form of inns. The Care center has a good number of beds for patients in the wards which are spacious and lodging in Bambalang is not a problem for visitors. Bambalang has a temperate climate. We strive to give holistic care to those who seek our services. We provide care for the body, spirit and soul. That’s why there is the spiritual component whereby we have   morning devotions. If you have faith then you will be healed. We are however still looking forward to adding services that are not yet in place like in the Emergency Department. We are working towards having a medicalised ambulance which will be the ideal way to take care of emergency issues. However, our roads are not bad and when emergency cases occur we can give advice on what has to be done on the spot before the patient is transported to our outfit.

You certainly want to reach out to stakeholders in the sector and maybe put across a message on how to encourage practices that can provide a much more hopeful future?

I want to give my assurance with regards to the genuine quality of our drugs here. We have suppliers recognised by the Cameroon Ministry of Public Health and so there is that guarantee for safety. It is simply a question of attitude and I call on stakeholders to have the correct attitude. I have been in practice for 20 years and I think I have the wherewithal to effectively solve health problems of Cameroonians and to contribute towards pushing the health sector in Cameroon forward. 

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