Coronavirus Pandemic : UNICEF Project Offers 40 Oxygen Concentrators

He owes his life until this day to nothing else but destiny. Nothing short of it! He could well have died alongside his parents some years ago. In the brutish civil conflict back home. That was the first time he survived - by a whisker. The second was in 2020 in the border town of Garoua Boulai. Located in Lom and Djerem Division of Cameroon’s East Region. This time, he took seriously ill. Barely able to breathe. Thanks to Good Samaritans, he was rushed to Garoua Boulai District Hospital. Where he was soon diagnosed with serious respiratory difficulties as a result of Coronavirus or COVID-19 infection. A pandemic that landed in Cameroon in March 2020.  

Snatched From Death   
Daouda Ahmadou, 14, is a Central African Republic refugee orphan. When he contracted COVID-19 and was rushed to Garoua Boulai District Hospital, there was no one to care for him. So, hospital staff had to take up the responsibility. “He was so sick, with his breath cutting off from time to time. But the hospital handled everything, given that he was all by himself. Having lost both of his parents in the war back home,” Bashir Yaya, the Focal Point for Communication for Garoua Boulai Health District remembers.   

Were It Not For Oxygen Concentrator…
Daouda was immediately placed on an oxygen concentrator and also fed for free by the hospital. He was on oxygen for two days. Today, he is doing well and is in first year in the Rural Artisan Training Centre, SAR SM Garoua Boulai. After treatment, Daouda was taken to Gado Badzere Refugee Camp, some 30 km outside Garoua Boulai. But he now lives in Garoua Boulai town after a well-wisher offered to take him in.

Orphaned By War
“Little Daouda fled the war in his country to Cameroon alone, having lost both of his parents in the fighting. We only discovered he was an orphan after he fell sick, all by himself - with no relative to take care of him,” Bashir recalls. “During school reopening, hospital staff contribute money to buy him basic needs. Daouda is therefore the hospital’s child!” he jokes.  

Too Traumatised To Talk  
With face bowed down most of the time, Daouda could barely mumble a few words in response to journalists’ questions in the Garoua Boulai District Hospital premises on September 27, 2022. Probably because of shyness. And most probably because of the trauma of losing both parents in the armed conflict in his country. “I fell sick with Coronavirus, but today, I am okay. I often tell my classmates and friends about Coronavirus and the experience I went through. I encourage them to protect themselves against the disease,” Daouda says.

Another Beneficiary  
Another oxygen concentrator beneficiary is Kola Anna Loupa, 42. She was delivered of a baby boy in Garoua Boulai District Hospital in June 2022. “Kola Justin came out looking blue and was not crying as expected. Moreover, his breathing was not normal. Doctors took us to a room where the baby was placed on an oxygen concentrator. After three days, the baby’s breathing was stabilised and the oxygen concentrator taken off. Ever since, the baby has been doing fine and breastfeeds well. I am so happy. Kola was delivered 12 years after my previous delivery. I now have three kids,” Kola Anna discloses with joy. “I did not pay for the oxygen concentrator. I am so grateful because it saved my baby’s life,” Anna appreciates.

Strategic Location
“Our hospital is located on the border between the Central African Republic, CAR and Cameroon. It covers a vast area, with a population so mobile as a result of displacements in CAR. The highway that runs through Garoua Boulai town is the main supply route to CAR. This means a high level of population movement on the highway, thus the need for us to be very vigilant about COVID-19,” explains Dr Mboa Mboke Ange, the Acting Director of Garoua Boulai District Hospital.

Transmission Corridor
“After the first cases were confirmed in Cameroon, it did not take long before some were recorded in Garoua Boulai. Garoua Boulai was one of the major COVID-19 affected areas and treatment centres in the East Region. Thus, the need to acquire the necessary equipment to tackle cases. Especially as the distance between Garoua Boulai and the regional capital, Bertoua, is 240km away. This makes COVID-19 referrals a challenge,” Dr Mboa Mboke notes.  

Stabilised Situation    
“We had patients who suffered from severe and very severe respiratory difficulties. Fortunately, UNICEF offered us some oxygen concentrators and patients’ lives were saved. Given our strategic location, our hospital needs breathing mac...