VOA慢速英语:喀麦隆发起反对非法医院和医疗中心的运动
From VOA Learning English, this is Science in theNews. I’m Christopher Cruise.
And I’m Faith Lapidus. Today on the program we havethree stories from the African nation of Cameroon. Wereport on efforts by the government to close illegalhospitals. We also tell about the country’s ban on non-biodegradable plastic bags. And we report on some of the problems faced by Cameroonians as their countrymoves to digital technology.
Cameroon Works to Close Illegal Hospitals
Cameroon has launched a campaign against illegalhospitals and medical centers, including those that usetraditional Chinese medicines. The Ministry of Healthhas blamed hospitals operating without officialpermission for causing deaths of patients.
Twenty-seven-year-old Mirabel Ndi watches helplessly as her two-month-oldbaby cries in pain. She and her baby have been at a private medical clinic in the city of Yaounde all night long. But she says there are no medical workerson duty.
“I came to the hospital and there is nobody to help.”
Since the government began closing what it considers illegal hospitals, somehealth workers have gone into hiding.
Bijoko Atnagan is the secretary-general of the country’s National MedicalCouncil. He says the government will continue to take action against what itbelieves are illegal clinics.
He says a person only needs to go and see for themselves the growingnumber of hospitals across the country -- many of them operating illegally. Hesays all doctors working in such places, and who do not belong to the Council, are practicing illegally.
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Andre Mama Fouda is Cameroon’s Minister of Health. He says thegovernment has identified 600 illegal hospitals and health centers.
He says the government is targeting hospitals all over the country. He saysthe government wants to know if they are operating legally and will close themif they lack permission to operate.
Even some of the hospitals that are operating legally have problems and maynot be able to react effectively to emergencies.
Dr. Etoundi Albert works at the Central Hospital in Yaounde. He says the fewworkers at the hospital have too many people to care for.
He says the hospital can deal with up to eight emergencies at any one time. Itcan also handle 20 non-emergency cases at once. But he says it is veryimportant that trained workers be available to treat Cameroonians so thatwhen there is an emergency, the hospital will have the people and medicalequipment to react quickly.
Dr. Nick Ngwanyam heads the Saint Louis Higher Institute of Health, whichtrains medical workers. He says the steps being taken to stop hospitals fromoperating illegally will save many lives.
He says “when it comes to medicine, there is no room for mistakes and sothe action is welcome. You go to the hospital, there is the doctor who isgenuine, then there is a nurse who is called doctor, the laboratory techniciandoctor, then the nurse aid doctor, and so doctor, which used to meansomething,” he says “has become a generic name for somebody in a whitecoat.”
The government is also taking steps against health care workers who givetraditional Chinese medicine to patients. But some Cameroonians, like DanielKum, believe the government should organize the practice of Chinesemedicine, not ban it.
He says “after moving from one hospital to the other, I did not have drugs thatcould help me. But when I took the Chinese medication, especially what theycall the One Bao, it helped me and I was happy.”
Cameroon Bans Plastic Bags
Cameroonians are returning to traditional ways of transporting food becauseof a ban on the production, sale and use of non-biodegradable plastic bags. People are now using large leaves from plantain trees to store food. But noteveryone is happy about that.
It is early morning in Mfou, a town near Yaounde. Nka Pamela has come to afarm to buy plantain leaves. She has been doing this since the government’sdecision to ban plastic bags.
Nka Pamela says many people want to buy plantain leaves. But she saysthey are difficult to find in many neighborhoods.
“At times the farmers will refuse to sell. There are times that they increasetheir prices so it makes it difficult for us to bring leaves to Yaounde to sell.”
At the Mfoundi market in Yaounde, people who sell food are now also sellingleaves. Etta Deborah owns a restaurant. She says she uses the leaves forsome traditional meals like corn fufu, koki, achu and mendumba.
“It is natural and then it is our African culture to use leaves for keeping of foodand I want to protect my customers.”
But not everyone is happy. Cameroonian Ben Collins says he is worriedabout possible health risks.
“You don’t know the origin of the leaves. You don't know how the leaves aretransported. You don't know how they were conserved. You don’t know thecontent of the chemical reaction between the leaf and the food. Some leavessometimes are used for medicinal purposes and some people unknowinglytake these leaves and they package their food with not knowing the effect.”
Dr. Agatha Tanya is a nutritionist and lecturer at the University of Yaounde. She says there is nothing to be worried about if plantain leaves are used in theright way.
“We can use leaves, natural leaves, which we have in abundance, and wrapfood in it. And besides, these leaves have a very, very nice flavor.”
Others working at the market say leaves are not supposed to carry manythings. Nevielle Ngalim sells bread in Yaounde.
“Where do they want us to put the bread and the cake? Will it be normal toput it in leaves? For me, it is not normal, the banning of the plastic.”
The Cameroon Association for the Defense of the Rights of Consumers saysthe government’s decision was a mistake. Yvonne Tarkang works for thegroup.
“Unfortunately, the socio-economic aspect wasn’t taken into considerationwhich means that if incentive measures are not put in place so many peoplewithin the sector will be affected. So we think that the government shouldcome up with alternatives because non-biodegradable plastic bags arebanned in Cameroon.”
Cameroon decided to ban non-biodegradable plastic bags because theypollute waterways. They also can be seen lying on the ground in many areas. Plastic bags are brought to landfills, where they slowly break down. Theresulting plastic particles then pollute the soil and water.
The government plans to work with private businesses to make packagingmaterials that are less harmful to the environment.
Cameroonians have until April to use up all of the plastic bags already in use. After that, people using the bags could face heavy fines or even time in jail.
Cameroon Struggles With Switch to Digital Television
Countries around the world are preparing to end their dependence on analogtechnology. The move to digital technology is set to take place by the middleof next year. There are many good reasons for going digital. Digital imagesare sharper and brighter than analog ones, and the sound is clearer. Butmany people in Cameroon are not ready for the changes. So the country hasset up a National Commission to assist with the move to digital technology. The group says many people have old televisions that will not be able toreceive digital signals. Tebo Mathias is a digital switchover expert.
“The population is supposed to be informed, they are supposed to be well-educated because you will not imagine an old person maybe in the villagesomewhere with his old radio set, one morning he is unable to tune to astation because the switchover has taken place and he was not aware.”
The cost of soon-to-be out-of-date televisions has been falling. Some expertsfear manufacturers will send these TVs to Cameroon and sell them to peoplewho do not know about the digital switch. So the government has banned theimport of non-digital television sets. But that decision has angered manypeople like Germain Nfor, a secondary-school teacher in Yaounde.
“(The) government has not really sensitized the people on why they arebanning the old type of TV, and after everything the plasma TVs are very, veryexpensive. I wish to ask if there are not other alternatives that one can use tocapture images apart from the plasma TV?"
Guillaume Kimbi is a reporter. He says many Cameroonians do not have themoney to buy a digital television.
“We are simply being taken by surprise and the new TV screens are not withinthe reach of the average Cameroonians, which therefore means that so manyCameroonians will no longer be able to watch TV if that switchover were tocome around now.”
Importers of electronic goods are also worried. Panje Raoul is one of them.
“We are calling on the state to look for ways of supplying appliances that cantransform the images from analog to digital,” he says. “Are we able to buy flatscreens? Today the minimum wage in Cameroon is 23,000 CFA francs, so Ido not know if a Cameroonian will be able to feed himself with such anamount and also buy a plasma screen. We are asking the state to reconsiderits decision,” he says.
Digital TV receivers cost as much as $1,000 in Cameroon. But the averagesalary there is about $56 a month. Experts like Tebo Mathias say people muststart saving money to buy the digital sets. He says the decision made by theInternational Telecommunications Union to go digital next year will not bedelayed.
“ITU has already decided that after that date, those countries that will refuse toswitch will not be able to receive signals from abroad or their own signals will not be able to be transmitted to neighboring countries because ofinterference.”
Many experts agree that African countries must move toward digitaltechnology. But they say people need to be guided through the process. They say there should be special telephone lines and major advertisingcampaigns to help people make the switch to digital.
This Science in the News was written by Christopher Cruise. Our producerwas June Simms. I’m Faith Lapidus.
And I’m Christopher Cruise. Join us again next week for more news aboutscience on the Voice of America.
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