Above: Picture of Mezam Polyclinique taken from their "Living with HIV & AIDS manual". Linked supplied by Dad.
Hope all goes smoothly! Even though some last minute changes about arrival in Douala, Sabine Fonderson, our ASHIA contact, and Dr. Paul Ngang Achu MD, who is the director of the clinic, have been very good hosts preparing the details for our accommodations in Cameroon.
Who knew I had so much stuff to pack?! I've been gradually cramming stuff into a giant suitcase - and a half - since yesterday afternoon .... still not done. Wish I had a pair of hiking boots. I'm sure Adam and I will have a very interesting time trying to set up our anti-mosquito sleeping tents.
Leaving tonight at 9:30 p.m. Please Air France, let there be camembert cheese :D
Above: Yummy Camembert. Image taken from Wikipedia entry on Camembert (cheese).-Jane
Hi, how come your flights are so long? still not arrive Cameroon yet? It is Friday night 11:00 pm EST here now.
ReplyDeleteDouala is the largest city in Cameroon and the capital of Cameroon's Littoral Province. Home to Cameroon's largest port and its major international airport, Douala Airport, it is the commercial capital of the country. Consequently, it handles most of the country's major exports, such as oil, cocoa and coffee, as well as trade with Chad. It is also home to the Eko Market, the country's largest market.
ReplyDeleteThe city is located on the banks of the Wouri River, the two sides linked by Bonaberi Bridge. Its population in 1991 was recorded as around 1.6 million and is now likely to have exceeded 2,000,000. The climate is tropical.
The first Europeans to visit the area were the Portuguese in about 1472. By 1650, it had become the site of a town formed by immigrants from the interior who spoke the Douala language and during the eighteenth century it was center of the transatlantic slave trade. Before coming under German rule in 1884, the town was also known as Cameroons Town; thereafter it became Kamerunstadt ("Camaroon City"), the capital of German Kamerun. It was renamed Douala in 1907 and became part of the French Cameroons in 1919. From 1940 to 1946, it was the capital of Cameroon.
The city is divided into quarters with Akwa and Bonajo being the most important with Akwa being Douala's nightlife center and Bonanjo its center of commerce and administration. Along the city's main thoroughfare lie some of Cameroon's best restaurants, coffee houses and French-style patisseries; along the waterfront, many bars and bistros may be found, commanding views of the Gulf of Guinea and nearby mangrove swamps. Many of these are frequented by the city's large expatriate population, mainly French or Lebanese, most of whom work in the petroleum industry.
Douala is Africa's second most expensive city, in terms of cost of living, after Lagos (Nigeria), and ranked 34th most expensive city in the world in 2008. In 2007 it was ranked 1st and 24th, respectively.
Malaria is a major health problem in Cameroon
ReplyDeleteA new study has pinpointed the mosquito species responsible for most malaria cases in southwestern Cameroon — an area where little is known about the transmission of the disease. The research, published in Malaria Journal, could help in planning and implementing malaria control throughout West Africa. Focusing on three coastal towns in southwestern Cameroon, the 12-month study examined the transmission rates of three mosquito species that carry the malaria parasite.
Anopheles gambiae was found to be responsible for the highest rate of infection and transmission — 73 per cent — in the region, while Anopheles funestus accounted for 23 per cent and Anopheles nili, four per cent. Different malaria carriers breed in different areas and at different times. A. gambiae, for example, breeds in small pools of muddy water formed by human activities, such as well-digging.
The results could improve the planning and implementation of malaria control activities in coastal Cameroon and the whole of West Africa, according to lead author Jude Bigoga, from the University of Yaounde, Cameroon. The findings would help scientists understand the behaviour of different carriers and how they should be controlled. Emmanuel Kafwembe, director of Zambia's Tropical Diseases Research Centre, told SciDev.Net, "Knowing how each [carrier] behaves will help scientists develop a system of controlling each differently".
Malaria is a major health problem in Cameroon. According to the World Health Organization, the country has over 900,000 cases a year. Children less than five years old are the most affected. Unlike the southern forested and northern savannah areas, little is known about distribution and transmission of the disease in Cameroon's coastal regions.
HIV & AIDS in Africa
ReplyDeleteTwo-thirds of all people living with HIV are found in sub-Saharan Africa, although this region contains little more than 10% of the world’s population. AIDS has caused immense human suffering in the continent. The most obvious effect of this crisis has been illness and death, but the impact of the epidemic has certainly not been confined to the health sector; households, schools, workplaces and economies have also been badly affected.
During 2007 alone, an estimated 1.5 million adults and children died as a result of AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa. Since the beginning of the epidemic more than 15 million Africans have died from AIDS.
Although antiretroviral treatment is starting to lessen the toll of AIDS, still fewer than one in three Africans who need treatment are receiving it. The impact of AIDS will remain severe for many years to come.
http://www.avert.org/aidsimpact.htm
Bamenda, Cameroon - So Amazing
ReplyDelete(We can only read on-line about it, need some real pictures from Bamenda please, Jane)
Bamenda, also known as Abakwa and Mankon Town, is a city in northwestern Cameroon and capital of the North West Province. The city has an estimated 446,000 inhabitants and is located 366 km (227 mi) north-west of the Cameroonian capital, Yaoundé. Bamenda is known for its cool climate and scenic hilly location. As a provincial centre the city, also an administrative commune has numerous markets, banks, and offices. The main industries are the processing of agricultural produce such as coffee. The local museum and shops display a wide variety of local baskets, beads, woodcarvings and bronze statues. In Bamenda there are cultural sites such as the Mankon Fon's Palace with its newly constructed museum, and the Bali Fon's palace with its ancient architectural structures. The mountainous terrain around the city affords scenic views such as that from the mountain Sabga over the Ndop plain.
Bamenda is the seat of the largest opposition political party in Cameroon, the Social Democratic Front (SDF), and the home of its leader, John Fru Ndi. The SDF is Cameroon's largest opposition party and was founded in Bamenda. On May 26, 1990, a group of Bamenda elites launched the party in Ntarikon Bamenda, despite a heavy police presence. However, the launching did not end without casualty. Six civilians were killed. Bamenda is also the birth place of The Southern Cameroons National Council (SCNC), a group that has been asking for the restoration of the former British Southern Cameroons, a territory that covers the English-speaking provinces of North West and South West.
The SCNC was born in Bamenda in 1994, after the All Anglophone Conference (AAC2) issued the Bamenda "Declaration" in which it had asked the government of President Paul Biya to respond to all Anglophone grievances stated in the Buea Declaration of 1993 or face the wrath of the people of the Southern Cameroons.The Cameroon government failed to respond to the Bamenda Declaration and since then, the SCNC has categorically maintained that it now considers the restoration of the independence of the Southern Cameroons to be final and irrevocable.
The city of Bamenda has road links to Yaoundé and Douala, and an airport, but no scheduled services. To the north of the city is the Bamenda Ring Road, a 367 km (228 mi) circular route through some of Cameroon's most spectacular mountains. Along this road is Mount Oku (3,000 m/9,800 ft), the Kimbi River Game Reserve, the Menchum River waterfalls, a huge chief's palace at Bafut, and a pyramidal thatched shrine at Akum (also known as Bagangu).
Congratulations on your arrival!
ReplyDeleteFinally we got the emial from Adam's Dad that you have arrived at the Clinic safely. Please take a good rest and take care.
Here is the email:
------------------
Yinhong Shen and Yun Xiao,
We just got a phone call from Adam, saying that he and Jane have arrived at the
clinic in Bamenda. They are settling into their rooms in a small apartment
within the clinic compound. They're tired, but looking forward to exploring the
area tomorrow, then beginning orientation Monday in the clinic for a few days.
Best Regards,
Jeff