Minister Sey was speaking on Tuesday in Banjul at a presentation of medical Ebola prevention paraphernalia by the Turkish Embassy and the Turkish-Cooperation Agency worth about 50,000 dollars.
He said: “The Gambia is Ebola free but we are not complacent and we are doing everything possible to ensure that it remains Ebola free. Turkey is one of the key countries who have pledged support in the fight against Ebola. However, we have a national task force and a National Ebola Prevention Plan which we will share with the general public tomorrow and I hope that the 5 million dollars pledged by Turkey [to fight Ebola in West Africa] will buy into this national plan. In the past six months, we have realised a great contribution by Turkey to the health sector in terms of human resource development, equipment and other supplies. This indeed is laudable. Coming back to the occasion today, following a visit to the Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital by the First Lady and seeing the condition of the neonatal ward, Operation Save the Children was launched. All these equipment and materials will therefore be dedicated to Operation Save the Children initiative of the First Lady. The Ministry of Health and Social Welfare will pledge one million dalasis to ‘Operation Save the Children’ initiative. We thank the Turkish government for the insight in contributing to the fight against Ebola in the sub-region.”
Ergin Soner, the Turkish ambassador in Banjul in his address said his country will intensify joint actions and cooperation to win the war against Ebola in the sub-region. “We are still continuing our support to our Gambian brothers and sisters in the fight against Ebola. The Gambia has always been free of Ebola. The main business has been done by The Gambia’s health ministry. We are here to appreciate the efforts of the government by delivering another batch of preventive equipment and materials. In this regard, special thanks go to the Turkish-Cooperation Agency based in Dakar whose staff are here with us today. I would also like to say that the president of Turkey has announced that the Turkish government is earmarking five million dollars for the fight against Ebola in West Africa. This was made at the just-concluded Second Turkey-Africa Summit which was held between November 19 and November 23 in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea.”
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