The director of health promotions Momodou Njie told journalists his institution hasn’t registered any Ebola case suspect or confirmed.
“So we are still Ebola free. People might be saying as a ministry we are not informing them. But from now we are monitoring the situation in the country and other borders. But as of now we are free from Ebola and want the message to go over to the people. We also want people not to panic of the situation on other countries. We are also strengthening our borders. The surveillance officers are doing what is expected of them. The communications team is also using again the print, the electronic and recently also started using the traditional media. A combination of these mediums will help us to raise awareness the way we want to and it is helping.”
Director Njie made these remarks last Tuesday at a media orientation on the deadly Ebola epidemic, which has infected at least 23, 729 people and claimed more than 9, 604 lives in West Africa and around the world. The orientation convergence discussed current situation and measures in place to continuously prevent and maintain an Ebola free Gambia.
Amadou Wurry Jallow from the ministry of Health, disease and epidemic control unit said they are expected to keep track of movement of people in and out of the country, arguing The Gambia is considered a “high risk priority area” and “this is mainly due to certain factors; the geographical proximity of these affected countries. How many people are coming from Guinea Conakry daily, to The Gambia? Communication is key here. All those coming we need to know who they are and where they are coming from so that we can take a track record of what is happening. Most of our goods are coming from these countries; kolanut, bitter cola, palm oil-comes from these affected countries. Migration and immigration- people are moving in and out, some coming in and others going out. With surveillance we need to keep track of what is happening and without communication that cannot work. Therefore, because of this, the WHOs preparedness support team has provided a technical and physical support for The Gambia to implement a national Ebola viral disease plan,” he said.
The ministry hailed the contribution of media outlets while calling on journalists to not rest on their laurels and continue with the job of delivering accurate news for public consumption.
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