Local Government : Helen Keller, Councils, To Foster Community Health

A project through which local councils will promote vaccination, school health; prevent obesity and anaemia, foster nutrition in communities, and resource mobilisation to prevent and fight diseases, was launched on September 15, 2022. Running from 2022-2023, the project, which is in its second phase, was rolled out by Dr. Ismael Teta, Cameroon Country Director of Helen Keller International, which is implementing it. Financed by the German Technical Cooperation, GiZ, the project covers 23 council areas in the West, East and Adamawa Regions.

Helen Keller, GiZ, FEICOM As Partners
The launch of “Nurturing Vaccination Through Improvement of Local Quality Cold Chain System and Health Promotion in Cameroon,” or LOKALE II (the German word for “local”), took place in the head office of the the Special Council Support Fund for Mutual Assistance, FEICOM, Mimboman, Yaounde. The project is sequel to the first, “Fostering Local Governance for Quality Health and Nutrition in Covid-19 Era” or LOKALE I, which involved 15 council areas in the West and Adamawa Regions.

UNOPS' Initial Funding
Dr Teta recalled that with funding from the United Nations Office for Project Services, UNOPS, Helen Keller International, in partnership with 33 councils in the East Region in 2019 initiated a nutrition local governance project. Beneficiary councils later committed to spend between 1-5 per cent of their budgets on the fight against malnutrition.

Council Commitment, FEICOM Interest    
“The commitment by mayors in the East Region drew the attention of the General Manager of FEICOM, Justice Philippe Camille Akoa, who was then Goodwill Ambassador in the Fight Against Malnutrition. In 2020, Camille Akoa opted to assist the beneficiary councils to improve the wellbeing of their people,” Teta said. He commended government for including decentralisation in the 2030 National Strategy for Development, “which allows local and international partners to chip in technical and financial support to local governments.”  

New Councils Join Project
Because of the success in the East Region, Helen Keller in 2021 reached an agreement with GiZ to expand the project, dubbed LOKALE (the German word for “local”), to 15 councils in Adamawa and West Regions. In 2022, 8 new councils in the East, West and Adamawa Regions joined the project. Given the encouraging results of the first phase, the second phase of the project sees the number of councils upped from 15 to 23.  

Local Needs Better Identified
“The German Technical Cooperation, GiZ has been working with the Ministry of Public Health to strengthen the health system. Our project focuses on family planning, reproductive health …. In the case of this new phase, we are laying emphasis on cooperation with councils, which are better placed to identify the needs of their people,” explained Guiliebert Josselin, Director of Pro-PASSar project, which is under GiZ.

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