On Thursday, December 7, 2023, Wholesome Health Promotion (WHP), organized a workshop on food poisoning awareness at the Buea Mountain Hotel.

The engaging and interactive workshop was attended by 55 enthusiastic participants who included members from the Buea Council Sanitation Department, the Director of the Buea Women’s Empowerment Center, and the Director of the Buea Town Integrated Health Center.

The workshop was facilitated by Terese Tande, WHP founder, and Herman Ekwalla, WHP’s Director of Operations & Projects, Cameroon.

During the session, participants discussed what exactly was food poisoning, what were its causes and symptoms and ways to prevent it. The key message was that food poisoning is a foodborne illness caused by consuming contaminated food or drink or a toxin or poison in food. The presenters stressed that this was typically not due to a malicious act but most often due to avoidable things such as not cooking food properly before eating, not washing your hands before eating or eating food that was improperly stored or preserved.

Participants left the workshop armed with vital and lifesaving knowledge to help spread the word about food poisoning, which has resulted in a disturbing number of deaths across Cameroon in recent years.