The exercise, which is being done through a caravan tour of communities across the country, started in the West Coast Region and is being replicated in all the seven health regions across The Gambia.
The Africa Centre for Tobacco Control mandated to provide technical and institutional support to governments in Africa in the areas of policy formulation, legislation and enforcement of tobacco control, as well as building and sustaining the institutional capacity for tobacco control funded the activity.
Health officials leading the caravan and the Director of Health Promotion and Education, held briefing sessions with the governor of the West Coast Region, Alh. Lamin Sanneh shortly after meeting with director and staff of Regional Health Directorate of Western II. The interface was organised to officially and formally inform him about the activity in his region.
Speaking during a meeting with the governor, Modou Njai, director of Health Promotions and Education at the Ministry of Health, thanked governor Sanneh for being the first governor to support health promotion activities.
He informed the governor about their planned caravan tour, reaching out to communities within the region.
The tour, he said, will be undertaken in other regions across the country.
Responding, Alh. Lamin Sanneh commended the health authorities for the initiative and encouraged them to expand it to all the communities in his region.
“West Coast is a very big region and we will continue to anticipate seeing more awareness creation activities on COVID-19 in the region,” Governor remarked.
Also speaking at the occasion, Omar Badjie, programme manager Non-Communicable Diseases at the Directorate of Health Promotions and Education, informed the governor that the activity is funded by the Centre for Tobacco Control in Africa based in Uganda.
“We are here to seek your permission to embark on the caravan in your region,” said Badjie.
