By Olimatou Coker
Musu Kuta Komma-Bah, Country Director of ChildFund International the Gambia, said they have already distursed over D5.6m to vulnerable families mainly in West Coast Region and some parts of LRR as an investment to fight Covid-19.
Country Director Komma made these remarks during the handing over of a 40-foot container with pharmaceutical and medical supplies to Ministry of Health held at the Central Medical Stores.
This forms part of their ‘Gift-in-Kind’ program that comes hard on the heels of the donation of a 20-foot container to the same ministry in July courtesy of Map International, a humanitarian organization based in the US.
She said the medical supplies they ship into the Gambia are always given a seal of approval by the Ministry of Health in line with set guidelines and approved standard.
“Our relation with the Ministry of Health is a long standing one,” she affirmed, adding there has been significant growth in their collective drive to make sure that the country’s health sector is well stocked for accessible and quality health care delivery.
She said the consignment is even more significant because it is an established fact that in this time of COVID-19, the health systems of even the most advanced countries have been confronted with serious challenges both in terms of human and material resources.
Babanding Sabally, the Director of Pharmaceutical Services said the partnership between them started three years ago and it is one of the best partnerships he has witnessed during his tenure as director.
He remarked: “ChildFund will invite us to decide what we need or what we want for people of the Gambia in terms of pharmaceuticals and medical supplies.”
While applauding ChildFund in ensuring that whatever they agree for them to bring, he also described the donation as solicited and ensured the donors that the items will be accountable and sent to where they are needed.
Karamba Keita, the Deputy Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Heath said this is another milestone between them and ChildFund, and it has been demanded by Ministry of Health from ChildFund.
While commending ChildFund for having The Gambia at heart, he alluded that government cannot do it alone; as they are faced with lot of challenges in terms of medical supplies.
