Catholic
Relief Service (CRS) and National Malaria Control Program (NMCP) recently
conducted a research synergy for National Assembly Members (NAMs) on malaria elimination.
The
study was held at NAM’s building in Banjul and was attended by officials of the
Ministry of Health, NAMs and other dignitaries.
Catholic
Relief Service head of country office Ousman Njie said malaria is still a major
public health problem in The Gambia, saying it is endemic and puts the whole
population at risk of infections, and transmissions mostly occurring in the
latter stage of the rainy season.
He
said the phenomenon is triggered by favourable ecological and climatic factors
(notably fresh water swamps, alluvial soils, rice fields, temperatures and
sunlight) for transmission to continue despite ongoing interventions in the
country.
“Significant
global progress has been made to reduce morbidity and mortality due to malaria.
As a global community, we cannot afford to cede the hard fought gains in the
battle to control and eliminate this devastating mosquito borne disease. CRS as
a partner and ordinarily a representative of the Civic Society Organization in
the study, reaffirms and renews our long-standing commitment and contribution
to this noble and global movement against malaria.”
Mr.
Njie assured that CRS will continue to collaborate with the government
especially MOHSW to raise funds; support capacity building programmes; bring
technology and innovation to optimize programming and be a resource for sharing
experiences and best practices.
He
stated that malaria cases are the most intriguing global health stories of the
time, resulting from smart investment and strong partnership that have resulted
in dramatic progress against malaria in the past 15 years. He said working
together as actors, dedicated partners; organizations and communities has
afforded reaching many people with effective strategies and intervention which
include; vector control with long lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs), Seasonal
Malaria Chemo prevention (SMC), indoor residual spraying (IRS) and more.
Representative
of the Speaker of the National Assembly, Minority Leader Samba Jallow said it
is common knowledge that malaria is a major public health menace in the country
which surely requires individual and collective action. He said investing in
malaria elimination initiative is about saving lives and reaping far reaching
benefits for the country.
“The
Gambia has made significant progress in the fight against Malaria which
classified us among few countries in Africa with potentials to eliminate the
disease. It is also gratifying that The Gambia received two awards in a row in
2018, from African Leaders Malaria Alliance (ALMA) in Ethiopia and most
recently during the commonwealth summit in UK, received by the president.”
He
said they are embarking on a new chapter in the fight against Malaria, which
they hope would ultimately see it eliminated in The Gambia.
Balla
Kandeh from the Ministry of Health suggested that there should be increment in
funding and contribute more in fighting Malaria, saying The Gambia is among the
fourth country to fight malaria across the sub region.