Dr. Rodolphe Fonkoua, formerly a board member of the Cameroon Medical Council (CMC), has been elected as the president for a three-year term following the association’s extraordinary elective general meeting in Yaoundé on Sunday morning.
Dr. Fonkoua, promoter of the Idimed Polyclinic in Douala, envisions a presidency dedicated to enhancing the living and working conditions of doctors across all statutes, specialties, and age groups. His focus extends to reducing unemployment among young doctors through improved professional integration.
As part of his strategy, Dr. Fonkoua plans to establish a permanent reception and information unit for young doctors within the CMC secretariat. Additionally, he aims to introduce lectures on ethics and deontology at the conclusion of the medical training cycle. Drawing from his experience as the former medical director of the Koumassi clinic in Douala, he is also committed to creating a career profile for civil servant doctors and providing legal assistance to colleagues facing assaults in the line of duty or legal challenges.
Aiming to restore trust in the healthcare system, Dr. Fonkoua is dedicated to promoting “quality medicine.” He proposes the regular organization of Cameroon Medical Days and pledges to encourage healthcare professionals to engage in continuous education, emphasizing the acquisition, maintenance, update, improvement, and deepening of their professional skills and ethical standards in the practice of medicine.
Dr. Rodolphe Fonkoua, renowned as the promoter of Cameroon’s first private hemodialysis center inaugurated in April 2019, brings a wealth of experience. Having served for 15 years as the doctor for Union Sportive de Douala, a club in the Elite One league, he pursued his medical education outside Cameroon. After his science-focused high school diploma in Cameroon, he furthered his studies at the Abidjan Faculty of Medicine (1974-1981) in Côte d’Ivoire, specializing as an internist at the Oumé and Yamoussoukro hospitals.
Dr. Fonkoua expanded his expertise through academic internships in diabetology at the Hôtel-Dieu Hospital in Paris, France. In 1982, he transitioned to become a sports physician and later honed his skills in occupational medicine in 1984. Notably, he holds a degree in theology from the Institute of Religious Sciences at the Catholic University of Douala.
Taking over from Dr. Guy Sandjon, Dr. Rodolphe Fonkoua becomes the 4th elected president of the CMC. The Minister of Public Health, Manaouda Malachie, congratulated him on his election, expressing anticipation for a mandate marked by significant advances for the medical profession and collaboration for the betterment of the health sector. He tweeted, “Wishing him every success, I look forward to working with him for the good of the health sector.”
Patricia Ngo Ngouem