Hon. Seedy Keita, Minister for Finance and Economic Affairs, reported the grant to lawmakers while presenting the 2024 National Budget.
The implementation of the grant would commence in January 2024 through December 2026 as a continuation of the 2020-2023 funding cycle, the Finance minister said.
Additionally, he said, Global Fund had committed funds to support the provision of a CT scan as part of the country’s health system strengthening for US$2.4 million.
He stated: “The Gambia has been awarded US$7,859,024 to cover unfunded demand in the following strategic priority areas: TB Mitigation, Surveillance and Data, Oxygen and respiratory care, Laboratory systems and Diagnostic Networks, and Community Health Works for implementation in 2024.”
He also stated that the malaria program of the Ministry of Health had received a recommendation for grant-making following the submission of the Grant Cycle 7 proposal to continue the implementation of the malaria prevention and control strategies of the country, and “a grant amounting to US$17,551,376 is allocated by the Global Fund for implementation” from July 2024 to 30 June 2027.
Harping on the menace of HIV and AIDS, the Minister said: “In The Gambia, HIV and AIDS continue to be a public health problem, and the prevalence in the general population is 1.5%. Currently, prevention program strategies are reinforced using the information gathered and appropriate programs designed to ensure the continuum of care for people affected with the ultimate objective of reducing HIV transmission among the community and suppressing viral loads and patients.”
He further disclosed that a postgraduate medical training program at the Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital (EFSTH) has been reducing the cost of training medical professionals.
“The country's commitment to Primary Health Care (PHC) has led to improved health, especially in maternal and child health and communicable disease treatment,” he disclosed, saying: “The Ministry also advances control and prevention of HIV and TB with increasing accessibility to services.”
Concluding, he said the government has continued to receive support from the Global Fund to fight HIV and AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria.
