By Landing Ceesay
The Gambia’s Ministry of Health on Wednesday received a 40ft container of medical items worth over D7, 000, 000.
The items were jointly donated by two UK-based charity foundations- NAFANTA FOUNDATION (CHEEP CHARITY UK) and CHAFFINCH Trust.
Shortly after receiving the donated medical items on behalf of the government, Rena Geoffrey Renner, the Chairman of the Ministry of Health donation committee said donations are very relevant and would help the country’s health facilities to fight against other problems.
“The items being donated today, are not irrelevant, they are very relevant because they will help to actually promote the facilities that will enable us to deal with not only Covid-19; but also other things. So we are very grateful for choosing to donate these items. We appreciate the value of these items, because if we are to buy them, it will cost us a fortune and you know how handicapped we are when it comes to resources. So we are grateful for saving us from those extra expenses that we would have to undergo,” Mr. Renner said.
Fatou Lamin Samateh, Deputy Director of National Pharmaceutical Services said since the Covid-19 started all focus is put on the pandemic and everyone has forgotten about the daily routines at the health facilities.
She added that the donated medical items would help the facilities not only in their fight against Covid-19, but also against daily routines at the health facilities.
“I would like to point out that so much focus has been on covid-19. But I think we would also not forget about other routine services that continue with or without covid-19. Of course, these items that have come will complement the efforts of the Ministry towards it. So, we are indeed very grateful for the items donated. I would like to add assurance to our partners that as you have already seen we have inventoried the items just to show you that we actually have a system in place whereby we can inventorize the items,” she said.
Meanwhile, Modou Faye, Chairman of NAFANTA Foundation, said he is honoured to donate medical items to the Gambian health facilities as the government cannot do all.
“I am honoured to give these medical items to my country. We all know charity begins at home and anytime you are outside, you always think of home. Yes, home is where we all want to go. We want not only to go home, but we want to come here and make changes. There are so many things when we were young we never had. But we have seen those things as a necessity and we want to try and change those things for the younger generation to come. That’s why I am donating these medical items to my country,” he said shortly after handing over the medical items to the government of the Gambia through the Ministry of Health.
Mr. Faye said the medical items are worth over £100, 000, which is more than D7, 000,000.
The donated items include Intensive Care Unit (ICU) beds, labour or delivery beds, wheelchairs and walking aids, a variety of orthopedics, cartons of facemask, and other medical equipment.
They were handed over to the Ministry of Health at the Central Medical Store in Kotu on Wednesday.
One of the donors, NAFANTA FOUNDATION (CHEEP CHARITY UK), is a registered Charity organization in the UK, with a mandate to alleviate the sufferings, improve health and wellbeing of people in The Gambia.
It was established to promote Awareness of Anxiety and Depression in societies and contribute immensely to supporting the health and wellbeing of vulnerable people in the most deprived communities.
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