By Doh James Sonkey
Orange Cameroun through its Foundation has donated solar-powered incubators to the Ministry of Public Health to support maternal and child health. The donation was carried out last October 4, 2024 at the esplanade of the Ministry of Public Health in Yaounde, at a solemn ceremony chaired by the Minister of Public Health, Dr Manaouda Malachie. Also present at the event were amongst others, the Director General of Orange Cameroun, Patrick Benon, the Director of Institutional Affairs and Regulation at Orange Cameroun, Alain Blaise Batongue, the Secretary General of Orange Foundation, Elizabeth A. Mabom etc.
At hand to receive the 8 solar-powered incubators from Orange Foundation headed by its Director General, Patrick Benon was Public Health Minister, Manaouda Malachie who in turn expressed gratitude to Orange Foundation for the wonderful gesture that will improve upon the health of the mothers and the new borns.
Public Health boss celebrated the public-private partnership which has enabled Orange Foundation to donate these solar-powered incubators and handed the health vouchers to the North West and South West regions worth FCFA 500 million.
The Minister said, “This donation is coming as an answer to the request we launched recently. We want to see the private sector enter the health sector like what Orange Foundation has just done. Thank you for accompanying us in that sector. These health vouchers you are offering for the North West and South West regions will enable women to have the necessary care in our health facilities.”
Dr Manaouda Malachie reassured that “My collaborators will make good use of these donations. We hope that if we receive support from other citizenship companies like yours, women and men will no longer be held in the hospital for unpaid bills.”
The Director General of Orange Cameroun, Patrick Benon explained to reporters that “We are here today within the framework of our support to communities. As you can see, Orange Cameroun is not only telephony, internet but also support to the population within the framework of the public-private partnership. We are here to support government actions in the health sector by donating 8 solar-powered incubators in order to support mothers and their new born in remote areas of the country.”
Patrick Benon added that, “We equally offered FCFA 500 million health vouchers to pregnant women in the North West and South West regions of the country so that they can be followed up throughout their pregnancies process until they put to birth.”
He concluded that, “Orange Cameroun will continuously support the health sector, education sector, training of youths and women empowerment.”
According to the Secretary General of Orange Foundation, Elizabeth A. Mabom, “Orange Foundation is carrying out these actions in line with its commitments to supporting the government to fight against infant mortality in the country”.