As part of their relentless support to The Gambia's health sector, the government of Taiwan through its embassy in Banjul on Friday December 4th presented a huge sum of money to the country.
At a presentation ceremony held at State House, the Taiwanese Ambassador to The Gambia H.E Richard Shih handed over a cheque for $300,000, an equivalent of 7.8 million Dalasi.
The money is part of Taiwan's annual health grant to The Gambia.
Speaking at the occasion, Ambassador Shih expressed appreciation in presenting the cheque on behalf of his government.
He added that he attended the swearing-in-ceremony of 14 Gambian doctors and was impressed with the trend of developments in the health sector. He hailed the Gambian leader for given maximum priority to the health of the Gambian people.
"The medical capacity is growing and today I am happy to present this cheque to complement the government's efforts," says Chief Taiwanese diplomat.
In receiving the cheque on behalf of the government, the Secretary-General and Head of Civil Service, Mr. Abdoulie Sallah expressed appreciation to the government and people of Taiwan for the support.
According to him, "recently a grant agreement of another $300,000 was made between the two countries to boost technical and vocational education and within 48 hours another $300,000 was presented."
This, he said, is a clear indication of the commitment and strong ties between the two countries.
He said the money would go a long way towards strengthening quality health service delivery in the country
The ceremony was chaired by Mr.Ebrima Camara, the Permanent Secretary at the Office of the President, who also hailed the gesture.
It's worth mentioning that over the years The Gambia's health sector has enjoyed a series of handsome donations from the Republic of China on Taiwan, ranging from medical grants, scholarship for medical students, CT scanners and other medical items for RVTH and other medical facilities in the country, just to name but a few.
