By Oumie Bojang
In a bid to improve the health care infrastructure in the country, Trust Bank Limited Tuesday donated medical equipment to worth over 250,000 dalasis to the Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital (EFSTH) in Banjul.
The Gambian owned bank donated items such as heparine injections and erythropoietin tablets for patients with end-stage renal disease
Njilan Senghore, the managing director of TBL, gave a genesis of the bank’s relationship with the EFSTH, saying it dates to when the bank first identified a neglected TB referral treatment centre. The bank took up the challenge to refurbish the treatment centre, Ms Senghore added.
On the donation, Mr Senghore said it is for the hospital’s dialysis unit: “Our intervention in this department came about when in 2016 a beloved member of our staff was diagnosed with chronic renal failure. We witnessed first-hand the devastating effects the diagnosis brought onto him, his family and all of us at the bank. Unfortunately, we lost him in 2019.”
She said the donation was in the memory of that colleague: “I’m sure we all know that the kidney plays an important role in human body and is essential for normal functioning of the human system,” she remarked.
Ms Senghore went on to highlight that The Gambia is plague by limited resources for the management of end-stage renal disease. “Trust Bank is clearly a profit-making business, however, we understand that our economic activities must ultimately serve the interests of our society, in tangible and meaningful ways.
Over the past weeks we have donated a total of D1M to the health sector to demonstrate our commitment to saving the lives of Gambians by equipping our hospitals.”
Nephrologist, Dr Lamin S Sima, expressed delight in receiving the medicaments for his unit.
He said the erythropoietin “helps in blood transfusion while the heparine helps to prevent blood clot”.
Dr Emmanuel Effa, consultant physician and kidney disease specialist, reiterated the significance of the donated items.
“We have about 100 patients on chronic dialysis at the (EFSTH), plus those that come in with acute kidney failure.
They require special heparine for their dialysis and those on chronic dialysis require erythropoietin to keep their blood at optimal level for good quality of life while they come for treatment,” he said.
Professor Ousman Nyan, the CMD of the hospital, appealed for support for the other units of the main referral hospital.
Mamima Sambou, head nurse, was among the speakers.
