From the 31st October to 3rd November 2019, the Cameroon Rheumatic Heart Disease Initiative was honoured by an acceptance to make both an oral and a poster presentation at the PASCAR, South-Africa Heart Association, and Africa PCR Congress in Sandton, Johanesburg, South Africa. Cameroon Rheumatic Heart Disease Initiative member, Dr Yanwou Nathan, received the acceptance as well as the African Travel Scholarship to support his flights and accommodation to support his attendance at this event. He commented that it was an incredible experience for him.

Dr Nathan count :

Interest in attending this event was motivated by Community Engagement Manager of REACH, Susan Perkins, who encouraged us to submit an abstract about the activities of our RHD Action Small Grant received in 2018 to create the first-ever RHD clinic in Cameroon. As soon as the opening for applications was launched, we applied and submitted our abstract. At the same time, we applied for the African Travel Scholarship. We learned we were among the grantees when the announcement was made in September.

Then came the task of applying for the South African visa to attend the Congress – which was no easy feat! Fortunately, the visa was issued on time and I was able to join the Conference starting on the 31st of October. This first day was marked by the RHD Consortium pre-session followed by a dinner to celebrate the RHD Action Small Grants Programme. The Small Grants Programme was a joint project of REACH and The World Heart Federation with funding from the Medtronic Foundation. Small Grant winners, representatives from REACH, WHF and Medtronic Foundation, along with some of the grant reviewers were happy to meet each other and discuss their various expériences and common interests.

The rest of the Congress also had a strong focus on RHD. The culminating point was the Bongani Mayosi Memorial RHD Summit chaired by Prof Ana Olga Mocumbi from Mozambique and Dr Emmy Okello from the Uganda Heart Institute. Dr Yanwou was honoured to present abstract about our project among the others in this session who are fighting against RHD in Africa. We can’t end this without mentioning the Congress Plenary Session, also held in the honor of late Prof Bongani Mayosi, a champion in the fight against RHD in Africa.

The Congress was not all about science. We also had a lot of fun, especially during the Rugby World-Cup final where South Africa faced England in a very exciting match. The Congress organizers agreed to stop the Congress during game time. Fortunately, we in the Rainbow Nation won the final match to the delight of all.

This was a great opportunity for Cameroon Rheumatic Heart Disease Initiative to show-up and connect with other people. Fruitful collaborations are on the way. Stay tuned.

For over a year now, we have been following children and adolescents living with rheumatic heart disease (RHD).
RHD is an illness which goes through several steps before reaching the final stage of cardiac valve damage. It always starts by a sore throat, which if poorly treated or neglected will lead in some susceptible individuals to what’s called acute rheumatic fever. This is usually self-limiting. After several episodes of untreated or neglected sore throat, immune response of the body will later on attack heart valves.
To fight against RHD, there are several options, starting from primordial to tertiary prevention. In between them, there is primary prevention for which community awareness on the risks of neglected or untreated sore throat is a key step.
The Cameroon Rheumatic heart disease Initiative is working with children and adolescents living with rheumatic heart disease to empower them so as to build their skills to become leaders in the sensitization against RHD in their communities and schools.
During some of our monthly clinics, we discussed with the kids the relationship between sore throat and heart disease. These were great moments of exchange, where the children as well as the parents and other carers were amazed to finally understand their illness.
This was the first step of our Project titled: “Patient empowerment for community awareness”
Keep tuned to find out what impact this training will have as the project unfolds.

Rheumatic heart disease is a burden to many African countries. It has been eradicated in developed countries but remains endemic in many developing countries. Some countries have already implemented control programs but in Cameroon the field is practically untouched.
The Cameroon rheumatic heart disease initiative team is currently conducting awareness-raising activities to warn people and decision-makers on the dangers of this silent killer. It begins with a common sore throat but later destroys the heart. If left untreated it may inadvertently lead to death. It affects a vulnerable segment of the population, comprising children and adolescents.
Dr. Yanwou talks about it in a Deutsche Welle report. Find the full interview herehttps://www.dw.com/fr/lapr%C3%A8s-ebola-au-liberia-le-syst%C3%A8me-de-sant%C3%A9-toujours-%C3%A0-plat/av-49600222

Most of the patient suffering from rheumatic heart disease they encounter didn’t have proper and specific follow-up, this leading to inobservance to secondary prophylaxis. The team agree to create a clinic dedicated to children suffering from this silent killer.

The clinic will be scheduled monthly, during the appointment, children will receive secondary prophylaxis with benzathine penicillin for free, and educative talk will be conducted with carers and children so as to empower them.

http://rhdaction.org/news/rhd-action-announces-2018-small-grants-programme-recipients-open-round

EVERY BODY HAS A ROLE TO PLAY IN THE FIGHT AGAINST THIS DISEASE THAT KILLS MILLIONS OF CHILDREN EACH YEAR. You want to see what this disease is all about, watch this video.

No child should die as a result of acute rheumatic fever and its complications. Help us with any idea on how to achieve this objective by leaving a comment below.