Dr.
Ahmadou Lamin Samateh, the minister of Health has revealed that the Upper
Saloum settlement of Njau will have a new Health Centre.
He
said construction of the new health facility will commence in February, adding
that the present health post will be turned into a staff quarter.
Dr. Ahmadou Lamin Samateh, made this statement
on Saturday while presiding over the handing over of an ambulance to the health
facility at Upper Saloum District, Central River Region north.
The
event formed part of minister Samateh’s daylong tour of six health facilities
in North Bank Region.
Health
Minister Samateh and delegation visited health facilities in the Upper Nuimi
settlement of Nema Kunku, Njau in Upper Saloum, Nawlerr and Daru Riwan in Upper
Baddibou as well as Kerr Ardo and Kerewan in Lower Baddibou.
Minister
Samateh informed the gathering that the handing over of the ambulance to Njau
health post is part of government’s efforts to standardise the health sector.
“The
community of Njau needs more than a health post and we are in discussion with
the community and hopefully very soon we will start the construction of a
health centre in Njau as work on the project will start in February this year,”
he said.
According
to him, his ministry will also provide another ambulance that will be stationed
at the health post in Njau, saying that ambulance is part of a pilot project
initiated by the Health Ministry.
Samateh
said the role of those ambulances will be to go into various communities and
bring sick people to the health facilities.
“We are trying to close the gap in the
referral system by distributing this ambulance to health facilities including
Njau considering the catchment of the area,” he said.
Alagie
Mbowe, National Assembly Member (NAM) for Upper Saloum Constituency commended
the government for providing an ambulance to the health facility.
He
called on the electorates to exercise patience, saying that a system that had
broken for the past 20 years cannot be fixed in a short time.
Demba
Sey, the chief of Upper Saloum described the development as timely and a step
in the right direction.
“My
people suffered a lot in terms of access to health care services,” he decried,
while thanking government through the Ministry of Health.
Sala
Bah, a women leader, lamented that Upper Saloum District with 84 villages is
the only district in CRR which does not have a health centre.
