The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) alongside UNICEF last Tuesday presented lifesaving medical supplies to the Ministry of Health at a ceremony held at central medical stores, Kotu.
The donated items are designed to strengthen the country's active response campaign in containing further spread to the global pandemic (covid-19) virus. The items donated include oxygen concentrators, tablets, laptops as well as washing supplies against infection, prevention and control of chlorine among a host of other detergents.
At the handing over ceremony, Gordon Jonathan Lewis, UNICEF representative in The Gambia, extended warm appreciation particularly to the staff of the Ministry's Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI), for their efforts in taking forward national vaccination campaign against corona virus as well as staff of the National Pharmaceutical Services.
"The country has recorded tremendous progress in fighting covid-19 despite significant challenges in the country and other competing priorities. We had intensive public awareness campaign led by communities, who are driving vaccination across the country, with encouraging results."
Since the outbreak of the covid-19 pandemic in the country in 2020, he added, UNICEF has been working side-by-side with the Ministry in providing critical support and numerous services of strategic importance to counter further spread of the virus and its impact on societies.
"Through our vast experience in global vaccine procurement and delivery, we have been able to deliver more six-hundred and forty-eight thousand of doses of WHO approved vaccines to the country through the Covax platform. Additionally, we have also provided one million syringes since the start of the pandemic."
These efforts, he added, have been strengthened with the procurement of an ultra modern cultural facility equipped with six freezers to help the country store any type of vaccines as well as numerous biological products.
For her part, Sharon L. Cromer, United States ambassador to The Gambia, acknowledged the strong partnership between USAID, UNICEF and the Ministry of Health in their continued fight against the global pandemic.
"The United States makes this donation including equipment and supplies to prevent and treat covid-19 and to ensure the continued health and wellbeing of the Gambian people. This is serious times and no global crisis in our lifetime has matched covid-19 in scope and complexity. We are facing overlapping health, humanitarian and economic crisis, each global and historic in scope."
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Ambassador Cromer expressed hope that the global pandemic would not stop 'our pursuit' of a better future, assuring that 'we can fight back and win this battle'.
The United States, she added, is leading the global endeavours to end the pandemic, recovered from its widespread economic effects and takes step against future pandemic threats as well as build back better the US and global economies.
Receiving the items, Dr. Ahmad Lamin Samateh, informed that the government of Adama Barrow has put the issue of providing quality health care services to the people of the Gambia a priority.
Since coming into office a little over five years ago, he added, the government indentified the challenges the health sector was facing.
"The government of Gambia inherited very big challenges with regards to infrastructures. We had dilapidated and even non-existence in some areas. We had none or obsolete equipment in many of our health facilities with huge capacity gaps."
In view of the cross cutting nature with regards to the health of the populace, Minister Samateh noted that health is a priority for any government saying investing in the health of the populace is critical.
Health Minister spoke about the ongoing renovation and expansion taking shape in some health facilities in the country, further reminding that these are part of a broader effort to ensure universal health coverage in the country.
