The Gambia Red Cross Society on Monday held a handing-over ceremony of medical items for 7 health units in Upper River Region at a ceremony held at the Red Cross grounds at Westfield, as part of their implementation of the convention project support by the ACID and Spanish Red Cross Society.
Speaking on the occasion, Bai Cham, secretary general of the Red Cross Society, said the support to the Ministry of Health is to further demonstrate their intention to the fulfillment of the Gambia Red Cross mandate in complementing government’s effort to improve the health of Gambians, particularly the vulnerable and hard-to-reach communities.
He said the GRCS is an auxiliary institution to the Government of The Gambia, particularly the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, as a humanitarian body in its mandate towards saving lives, enabling health and promoting social inclusion and a culture of non-violence and peace in the country.
Mr Cham said they have no doubt the gesture will form an important contribution to improving the health of over 50,000 beneficiaries in the URR at a cost of over D8,000,000.
The support is part of the implementation of the project objectives which include but not limited to improving access to basic primary healthcare services to the people of URR, he said, adding that the project objective is in line with the ministry’s health development agenda geared towards the attainment of the MDGs on health by the year 2015.
He said the support is to complete the health development component of the project which enabled them to build or rehabilitate 7 health units in URR; likewise 150 VIP latrines and 10 boreholes were constructed in the region in the project.
For his part, the minister of Health and Social Welfare, Omar Sey, assured them that the donated items will be put into good use and well monitored. He also thanked them for the good gesture.
The donated items included drugs for RCH, TBA and village health workers, medical equipment for RCH, and primary health care among others.
