Interview with Cameroon Young Pharmacists President, Franck Keumoe
By Ntani Nsutebu
Franck obtained his Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the Faculty of Medicine and Pharmaceutical Sciences of the University of Douala in 2016. He currently works as a Hospital Pharmacist at Pette District Hospital, which has a capacity of 150 beds and is located in the Far North Region, Cameroon. Among the many associations and working groups to which he belongs, he is a member of FIP YPG and the current president of Cameroon Young Pharmacists (CYP). He is the pioneer president of CYP and has been in office since January 28, 2017.
Cameroon young pharmacists seem to be a relatively new and our readers might want to know more about the association. Tell us more about your vision and your mission.
Indeed the Cameroon Young Pharmacists (CYP) is young from the look of its members and more especially its age because, it was born on January 28, 2017 through the will of a handful of young pharmacists eager to contribute to the development Pharmacy in Cameroon, Africa and the world at large.
The vision of CYP is simple: To develop the leadership of young pharmacists while engaging their dynamism and skills in the course of their practice of the pharmacy profession.
During your tenure as president of CYP, in your opinion, what impact has the association had on young pharmacists professionals in Cameroon?
With the birth of CYP and its many innovative actions in the profession, we have witnessed many questions, firstly young people questioning themselves about their subsequent commitment and above all a firm desire to engage in the advancement of issues of the profession. Well, the young pharmacist approach is increasingly being taken into account in the working groups. These are small steps, but with time we notice an impact at the faculties of Pharmacy and other health-related fields in Cameroon. This is to say that the CYP through its activities has revolutionized the Pharmacy profession in Cameroon and in the process will sustainably impact the young pharmacists that we are.
Recently in May, you organized the first Cameroon exhibition on Pharmaceutical Education. What are some of the most exciting resolutions that came out of this?
Thank you for this question, from May 9 to 11 this year, the CYP with the support of the faculties of Pharmacy organized the 1st Cameroonian Exhibition of Pharmaceutical Education under the theme ‘Issues and Challenges of Pharmaceutical Studies in a rapidly changing profession’. Its objectives were to define new perspectives for the pharmacist profession, which has undergone many changes to better support pharmacy students and young pharmacists through global and contextual solutions. So at the end of these days, if I have to enumerate quickly two or three recommendations made, I would say that participants recommended that; the Ministry of Higher Education sets up postgraduate training especially in hospital pharmacy, to set up platforms for collaboration between various higher educational structures, and for the National Order of Pharmacists in Cameroon to set up continuous professional development programs so as to keep its members up to date with contemporary knowledge in their practice, etc.
We are in very exciting times in the profession with major transitions on the role of pharmacists in different aspects of healthcare. Based on your past experiences what areas do you think pharmacists in Cameroon should engage in to create greater impact within their communities?
Cameroon only began training Pharmacists less than 15 years ago, which means that all aspects of the profession deserve special attention — there is the need to promote local industrial manufacturing in order to better fight substandard drugs and improve access to quality medicines, then real and structured involvement of pharmacists in primary health care with the growing number of pharmacists practicing in the peripheries are some areas where pharmacists can contribute immensely to their communities.
I cannot end without launching a heart’s cry to sister associations in other countries so that they accompany us both in the area of training and exchange programs. I will end with this quote from Henry Ford that I really like “Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success”.
