The First Lady of the Republic, Her Excellency Madam Zineb Yahya Jammeh will later today wrap-up a three-day tour of health facilities within the Greater Banjul Area. The inspection tour, which is of course not the first of its kind to be conducted by the First Lady will give her and delegation first hand information on the state of affairs of the facilities visited.

The tour is an indication of how much Madam Zineb Jammeh values the health concerns of the country and her determination to support her husband in ensuring a healthy nation.

In fact, her immense personal contribution to the country's health sector including the frequent donation of equipment and the'Operation save a Baby'initiative are all testimonies of her determination to ensure the advancement of our health sector.

We can say for certain that Her Excellency the First Lady has proven to be a pragmatic lady who matches her words with action. She is also actively playing her role as a member of the African First Ladies, an association formed some years ago, which aims among other things, to unite first ladies in the continent to enable them act in their capacitiesas advocates in the fight against maternal, new-born and child mortality, as well as prevent child-mother and HIV infection.

Madam Jammeh's interventionis a worthy cause that deserves to be emulated by all Gambians. It is an indication of her tireless commitment to the development of The Gambia, because health is considered to be amongst the most critical and important sectors in any country.

We therefore commend her for the untiring efforts to ensure that the country realises its health targets. We also hope that other women would emulate her.