In the face of Covid-19, Cameroonian brain boxes are proposing high-tech solutions to fight the spread of the disease.
Combatting the coronavirus by all means possible is what is on every right thinking person’s mind. Having originated in China but causing havoc in Cameroon, the killer coronavirus has awoken dormant minds to think up solutions to fight the disease. It is in this light that some Cameroonian youths are bringing to the limelight inventions which before now were unknown to the public but which according to them can help fill the gap in the country’s wanting hospital equipment. Videos circulating on social media show these youths exhibiting their inventions ranging from doors that can be used in public places to disinfect people to the highly sought after lifesaving ventilators. Serge Armel Nidjou is an award winning manager of a university agency in charge of technological innovations. His structure established in 2016 in Bafoussam West region of the country acts like a bridge between the research world and the market. Confronted with the Covid-19 pandemic, Armel and his team have come up with a portal that disinfects people before they gain access into a building. The machine according to its inventors is cost effective and easy to use as it is automatic and needs no human manipulation to function. According to Mr. Nidjou, his structure converts research work to concrete reality that people can use thereby making science a useful tool for the development of Cameroon in particular and Africa in general. Away from this automatic portal, the duo has produced an artificial ventilator but which still needs the expertise of a medical doctor whose knowhow will ensure that the machine produced is suitable for human use and is in line with medical standards. As at now, five prototypes of the portal have been produced and because large scale production is not evident yet, the agency’s head says they can subcontract to others to facilitate massive production. The hope is for ministries, hospitals and super markets to name but these to show interest and purchase these machines to assure the security of these highly visited areas.
Claudette Chin
