Organised by NGO Affirmative Action, the Phoenix and POSIAPUD projects was launched according to officials to improve healthcare access by preventing sexually transmitted infections( STI) and supporting persons who use drugs.
Held on October 7, 2025 in Yaounde, these projects were launched during a workshop gathering experts and health sector partners, including those for PHOENIX and POSIAPUD. The PHOENIX project, per the coordinator, is focused on improving access to prevention services for sexually transmitted infections. “This is a project that is part of the Cameroonian Pathology Service,” said Stephan Tieck, the PHOENIX Project Coordinator. “It is a project that was born out of a desire to address the needs of the communities in connection with the pathological service, following the proximity that has been suspended. An analysis of the first summer of 2024 allowed us to identify what has been done to address the needs of the service.
At the end of the first semester of 2024, more than 2,000 people participated in the service,” Stephan Tieck stated. “We are happy to continue with this initiative. We expect to reach at least 2,500 people suffering from pathologies in connection with the Cameroonian Pathology Service.” The second initiative, the POSIAPUD project, is dedicated to promoting an integrated service offer for persons who use drugs. “The project that we have just presented is a project that supports the promotion of an integrated pathology service adapted to the existing population of people who use drugs,” said Silvére Tchomou, the POSIAPUD Project Coordinator. “People who use drugs are part of the vulnerable populations of the Cameroonian Pathology Service.
Many initiatives have been put in place to address drug use, but very few have been implemented.” Silvére Tchomou also addressed the challenge of data. “It is true that there are very few data on the use of drugs, but it is not reflected in the statistics that are proposed by the health services. The specific package of services adapted to this population is not validated in the official health statistics.” He explained the project’s basis, noting, “There are studies in the field of mental health that try to understand the link between drug use in individuals, drug use in families, and drug use among those with addiction, to try to see how to provide an adequate response to be able to fight against drug abuse, but also to address the related diseases that I have already mentioned.”
