MRC celebrates 70 years Anniversary

By Maimuna Sey-Jawo The Medical Research Council, the Gambia on Wednesday celebrated their 70 years Anniversary. The Council held an open day at its field station in Basse in the Upper River Region. The day was designed to showcase their scientific achievements, give members of the public the opportunity to interact with staff and learn more about what MRC is all about. Pa Cheboh Saine head of operation MRC, said the Basse MRC open day was a unique opportunity to meet, explain and showcase some of the work MRC do. “We are a research institution with primary objective of leading health research in West Africa to save lives and improve health across the world.” He recalled that Basse MRC field station was established in 1982 and has since expanded both in size and scope of activities, adding that a lot of ground-breaking research has been conducted there. According to Mr. Saine the field station currently has some 280 staff and is hosting 7 large project and trials, including the Basse Health and Demographic Surveillance System (BHDSS). “We recently expanded the infrastructure and facilities at the field station to make MRCG Basse more hospitable to staff and staff families. We also constructed new offices and entertainment and recreational facilities for staff and families, upgraded the accommodations at Koba Kunda, build new accommodations at Mansajang and provided new facilities, including borehole, new fencing, new laboratory and accommodations for our entomology research site at walikunda,” he said. Ebrima Baldeh, Principal Nurse Officer Basse Major Health center, expressed appreciation to witness the gathering. Baldeh noted that in history MRC Gambia has been known for excellence in health care service delivery, research, surveillance, clinical and field trials, thus leading to many successful achievements for the institution, partners and the country as a whole. He added that MRC- Basse has always been a valuable collaborator and genuine partner with the ministry of health and social welfare in ensuring provision of accessible, affordable and quality health care to all the communities in the region and beyond. “Therefore MRC Gambia and the ministry of health are inextricably linked in terms of partnering and collaboration for development of the health sector,” he said. Also speaking at the event, the Deputy Governor URR Cherno Borra Touray, expressed gratitude to MRC for choosing his region to celebrate its 70 years anniversary and showcase their achievement as well. He said MRC has an international reputation for research on malaria, various and bacterial diseases in most developing countries and the Gambia is not an exception.]]>