HARVARD - CUHS PROJECT

Evaluation covers the period 11/29/73 to 12/31/79, and is based on HU team reports. In late 1974, a nurse/midwife and obstetrician joined the pediatrician and public health nurse on the HU team, augmenting its efforts in research and long-range planning. The team assisted in training of medical personnel knowledgeable in medical problems endemic to Cameroon by developing clinical facilities and training in effective pre- and postnatal care, high-risk pregnancy and acute pediatric care. A major achievement of the team was the creation of a highly effective prenatal and Maternal Child Health clinic, which opened in 10/74 to provide both clinical and training facilities. In 1975, a Child Spacing Clinic was established which provided a broad range of family planning services, and which reached, in its first year, over 1,000 patients. A second very successful output was the establishment of a High-Risk Pregnancies (HRP) Clinic, another outpatient teaching facility. As a result of the HRP Clinic's efforts, the prenatal mortality rate fell from 41.3 to 31.2 per 1,000. An acute problem faced by the team was the difficulty of implementing necessary preventive pediatric medical training because of the huge number of critically ill and malnourished children requiring care. This project taught the need for increased emphasis in Cameroonian medical education on preventive medicine, especially for children under five. Other problems faced by the team were difficulties of communication, paucity of support personnel, inadequate facilities and overburdened professional staff. Evaluation contains team members' recommendations in these areas. In the final phase of the program, a bilingual community nursing textbook was published and distributed, additional curriculum developed, and preparations made for the project team's 1979 withdrawal. Evaluation includes detailed description of activities by team members.