CNA Rounds up 8th Scientific Conference and 20th Anniversary Celebrations

By Francis Ekongang Nzante

The Cameroon Nurses Association CNA recently rounded up it’s 8th Scientific Conference and it’s 20th Anniversary Celebrations in Bamenda, the Northwest Regional Heart Quarters. This two yearly event took place at the Main Hall of the North West Regional Special Fund for Health Promotion within the confines of the Regional Hospital under the theme “Nurses Leading The Way To A Safe, Healthy And Peaceful World.”

The two day event which ran from February 26th to the 27th was spiced by Scientific presentations and panel discussions that touched on ways of improving not only the conditions of practice of the nurse, but also encouraged the average Cameroonian Nurse to further empower themselves by furthering their education in Nursing to the highest possible levels. 

In this vein, Professor Bih Mary Atanga of the Department of Nursery and Midwifery at the University of Bamenda said this was the only way to stop that condescending attitude that nurses always received from other health practitioners. The notion that nurses were not sufficiently educated she said would be wiped out if the nurses took it upon themselves to equip themselves with a sound education.

In his Keynote address, Mr Nkwain Joseph, the National President of CNA who is also the Director of the Florence Nightingale Higher Institute of Health and Biomedical Science in Bamenda said the membership of the association had risen from 35 members in 2001 to 2650 members in 2021. The vision he said had always been to have a well managed and vibrant association. Among other things, he said following the collaboration between the Commonwealth Association of Nurses and CNA, the association could now boast of a website. While stating that this site had contributed in boosting the image of CNA internationally he didn’t fail to mention the challenges that they've been encountering in their attempt to manage the website. “We are going to take lasting decisions in managing the website and all the decisions taken here will be published on the website” he said.

The present executive committee's second mandate had to be acknowledged by the General Assembly which had to meet last year but failed to do so because of COVID 19 he said. That not withstanding the present Executive Committee he disclosed was already carrying out a very ambitious project. Land he said had already been acquired in Bamenda and the construction of the Headquarters of the CNA was going to start in the days ahead. He said while the mandate of the present Executive Committee would end in 2023, members were going to be voted into the Education and Research Committee. This activity was actually carried out before the Bamenda deliberations rounded up.

Considering the fact that the contributions of members alone would not be enough to cough out the necessary funds needed for the construction of the CNA Headquarters, Mr Nkwain Joseph emphasised on the need to source for funding from in and out of the country.

In an interview with the media he described the nurse as a Frontline health worker and said without the nurse, a hospital could not move. The CNA National President said in Cameroon, they were still trying to raise the status of a nurse to that which was found in other countries. “It is not a subordinate profession to medicine. It is a profession which is complementary” he stated unequivocally.

While participants came from Douala, Buea, Limbe And Yaounde, it should be noted that equally present were the Vice National President Dr/ Mrs Njini Rose as well as the National Treasurer Mrs Nchifor Mary. Also actively present were Mr Mofor Moses, President of the Buea Branch from the Biaka University Institute Buea, Mr Atongno Humphrey Ashu, President of the Littoral Branch from the General Hospital in Douala. 

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