The Gambia Red Cross Society yesterday began a two-day training of trainers on human pandemic preparedness (H2P) for stakeholders at the Dunes Resort in Kololi.
Delivering the keynote address on behalf of the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Mr. Abdoulie Camara, said the human pandemic preparedness is based on the comprehensive plan developed in September 2007, to help the
According to him, the overall goal of the proposed interventions is to ensure health and safety of the entire population during phases 1-6 of the human pandemic.
He said the threat of human pandemic is a matter of tremendous global importance, noting that The Gambia counts on the international community and partners like the Gambia Red Cross Society, to complement this important effort.
He commended the Gambia Red Cross Society and its partners for complementing the efforts of the health sector.
For his part, the Secretary-General of the Gambia Red Cross Society, Mamudou Bah said human influenza pandemic has grown over the past few years to become a global threat to lives and livelihoods. He stated that the virulent human flu has spread remarkably fast from country to country, region to region and continent to continent.
He pointed out that confirmed cases have been registered virtually in 60% of the countries in
"We have no reported case in The Gambia, we must take all the necessary actions for prevention and response," he added.
He stated that it is very significant that the government and GRSC have taken the lead in addressing all the important fast spreading diseases.
Other speakers at the occasion included Essa Khan, the Executive Director of the National Disaster Management Committee and Dr. Isatou Fall-Gaye from the International Red Cross office in
