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    March 05, 2012

Gabon Government Improves Public Access to Healthcare

   Peter Clottey
   Gabon President Ali Ben Bongo Ondimba has launched an ambitious
   development agenda to transform the country. Photo: Gabon president's
   office
   Gabon President Ali Ben Bongo Ondimba has launched an ambitious
   development agenda to transform the country.

   In Gabon, officials say the construction of health institutions
   including the new but yet to be opened Cancer Treatment Center is a
   government priority to ensure access to quality healthcare for all
   citizens.

   To achieve that objective, they said, the administration has built the
   Angondje Cancer Institute in the capital, Libreville. It's also begun
   restructuring public hospitals and creating university hospitals
   specializing in surgery, maternal and child health, orthopedics and
   trauma.

   Infectious diseases specialist, Doctor Jean Paul Gonzalez, who is
   director general of the International Center for Medical Research of
   Franceville, (CIRMF) said the organization supports the government's
   objectives of improved healthcare.

   The goals of CIRMF include research, training and public health
   support.

   Doctor Gonzalez said research done by CIRMF is helping to boost public
   health.

   'We are always following the demand of the public health system. We
   were in the field for HIV [research] in the beginning so we know more
   about HIV and the people being treated here in Gabon,' said Gonzalez.
   'We are following infected people so we understand how to adjust their
   treatment. For Ebola, we are the [research] leader, so now the
   healthcare system knows how to handle '¦ an epidemic of Ebola.'

   Gonzalez said CIRMF's research findings provide critical information
   needed by the doctors in Gabon to handle and treat infectious diseases.

   Funded mostly by the government of Gabon with some additional support
   from partners including USAID, CIRMF offers continued post-doctoral
   medical education workshops with participants from African medical
   faculties, and regional teaching hospitals.

   'We train Gabon doctoral students to be future leaders in medical
   research here and abroad,' said Gonzalez. 'The fallout of our research
   directly applies to the medical system and training the people to
   excellence to solve problems here in Gabon.'

   Located in Franceville, CIRMF covers 120 acres with 46 campuses the
   organization is split into five research units that includes emerging
   viral diseases, medical parasitology, retrovirology, health ecology and
   hemopathology. The center also has two special units that focus on
   medical biology and public health and the other is a primate center.

   Doctor Gonzalez shares some of CIRMF's success stories since it was
   established in 1974.

   'We have had 800 high-level publications at the international
   scientific level. More than 50 doctoral students have been trained and
   more than 200 students did their thesis here, and then we have all
   these research findings in terms of therapy, follow up intervention
   strategy, etcetera,' said Gonzalez.

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