Cameroon Medical Council: the three flagship projects of Dr. Manga Theodat to restore the greatness of doctors

Candidate for the post of President of the Order of Physicians for the election of December 29, 2022, the Ophthalmologist and President of the Cameroon Society of Ophthalmology (SCO), former Deputy Secretary General in the Council of the Order under the late Dr. Daniel Muna is determined to save this noble profession.

 To do this, he intends to reduce unemployment among young doctors, reduce poverty in the medical profession and harmonize practices through a revitalization of learned societies, and the promotion of continuing professional development before the end of his term in 2025.  

“Dear colleagues, on December 29, you will be called upon to elect a new President, as well as the twelve members of the National Medical Council of Cameroon (ONMC). A few weeks before this important meeting, I turn to you, with responsibility and humility, to present the stakes of this vote,” announced Dr. Manga to the 13,000 doctors registered with the Order.

“I have already served as Deputy Secretary General in the Council chaired by the late Dr. Daniel Muna, a position I held for ten years, and which allowed me to know the distribution of doctors throughout the national territory and the complexity of our institution. I gained maturity and experience in managing people as President of the Cameroonian Society of Ophthalmology (SCO) and as head of a renowned medical training. Twelve years later, here I am before you to ask you to elect me as President of the ONMC“, he reassures.

Aged 63, Dr. Manga is convinced that he has the responsibility to find concrete solutions. If he is elected on December 29, 2022 at the Yaoundé Congress Palace, he intends to bring back serenity in the house. “Our first challenge will be to bring back calm and serenity in our ranks, to bring together an Order that has fractured, blocked by factitious divisions that have led to the chaos we see. Once calm is restored, I have only one compass: ethics and deontology,” says the candidate.

Program

 At a time when the Order of Physicians seems to be dividing and is causing a great deal of controversy, Dr. Manga is convinced that it is necessary to “restore this wonderful profession to its former grandeur. This requires regaining the trust of our patients. Like all our compatriots, you deeply need the profession to be cleaned up.

To achieve this, he sets clear milestones: the reduction of unemployment among young physicians, and the reduction of poverty in our profession before the end of my mandate in 2025. Believe me, this is not an illusion, it is not an unattainable goal. Harmonization of practices through a revitalization of learned societies, and the promotion of continuing professional development. We must also decentralize. It is necessary to get out of the current mode of operation and find solutions as close to the field as possible. Regional representatives must have more competences and more means. We are united in our desire to make our Order stronger, more solid and better prepared to face the challenges of tomorrow.

His background

At 63 years old, Dr. Manga is married and has three children. He obtained his doctorate in medicine in 1986 at the University Center for Science and Health (CUSS), Yaoundé. Between 1990 and 1996, he obtained an Interuniversity Diploma of Specialty (DIS) in Ophthalmology and a University Diploma of Blindness Prophylaxis at the University of Bordeaux II. From 1987-1989, he practiced as a General Practitioner, Chief Physician of the District Hospital of Mayo-Oulo in North Cameroon.  Then, he was an associate physician at the Pellegrin Hospital in Bordeaux.  Back in Cameroon, he worked at the Polyclinic Bonanjo from 1997-2002 as an ophthalmologist. Since 2003, he has been the manager of the Cabinet Médical La Cerisaie.

A humanitarian

Over the past three decades, Dr. Manga has dedicated his life to humanitarian causes. He has participated in several activities in the country.

Numerous humanitarian missions in ophthalmology. In 1996, he was deployed to Kousseri in the Far North with Africa Luz Cameroon and then to Makari on the Cameroon-Nigeria border. In 1999, he went to the Dibamba Leprosarium with Medico esculape. He will go in turn to the Lions Club Orchidée of Douala JMV in 2002; Osf (Ophtalmo Sans Frontières) Bangangte, 2003, Babouatou, 2004, Bangangte, 2005, Humanitarian Campaign Nzon Minkan in Bikoka by Lolodorf in 2006 to Ngomedzap in South Cameroon, 2007 and Ahala in 2011, 2013 and 2018.

In his scientific community, Dr. Manga is President of the Cameroonian Society of Ophthalmology (SCO), member of the African Francophone Society of Ophthalmology (SAFO) and member of the French Society of Ophthalmology (SFO). He is registered with the National Order of Physicians of Cameroon under No. 1190/87 and former Deputy Secretary General No. 1 of the Order of Physicians until 2010.

Appointment is made for December 29, 2022 for the elective General Assembly at the Palais de Congrès in Yaoundé.

Joseph MBENG BOUM