PAMME Project: Over 800 Mentally ill individuals rescued from the streets of Yaounde in four years - Communauté Urbaine de Yaoundé

The Yaounde City Council-supported community-based care of people suffering from mental illness and wandering (PAMME) project has assessed its productivity since initiation in 2021. Meeting at its first annual gathering on April 15, 2024, under the chairmanship of the Yaounde City Mayor, Luc Messi Atangana, with other stakeholder institutions duly present, the committee presented an evaluation of its activities, challenges, and future plans.

This followed its most recent field trip where 165 individuals with mental health challenges from all seven subdivisions of Yaounde were taken into the Hopital Jamot’s Love Village (Village D’Amour) for proper care. Among them, was a lady with her 08-year-old daughter.

Between January and April 2024 alone, 165 individuals with mental health challenges, including 115 men and 50 women, were admitted. During the same period, 108, including 75 males and 33 female patients, were discharged and reintegrated into society after receiving treatment at the facility. Some of the patients, it should be noted, are based in different regions, but somehow found themselves in the capital city.

Hosted at Hopital Jamot (Jamot Hospital), the Love Village project is run by the Ministry of Public Health, the Yaounde City Council, and the Ministry of Social Affairs. Patients, upon being taken off the streets, receive daily care at the facility and are encouraged to participate in recreational activities. Since its inception in August 2021, the project has provided care for 819 individuals, with 693 successfully discharged and reintegrated into society.

Despite these recorded successes, the committee noted certain impediments limiting their productivity and the amount of care provided to patients.

These obstacles were narrowed down to the absence of a formalized legal framework for patient management and the lack of motivation among staff, who work on a voluntary basis and only receive periodic incentives. The committee proposed meeting every six months under the chairmanship of the Yaounde City Mayor to evaluate its activities, as well as the need for improved collaboration between stakeholders – the Ministry of Public Health, the Yaounde City Council, and the Ministry of Social Affairs.

Celcom/RP-CUY