Muhammad BS Jallow, The Vice President Of the Gambia Handing Over The Bill To The Clerk
By Ramatoulie Jawo
His Excellency Muhammad BS Jallow, The Gambia’s Vice President, took to the National Assembly floor on March 4th, 2024, to introduce two significant bills: the National Social Protection Bill 2023 and the Nutrition Bill 2023.
The introduction of the National Social Protection Bill aims to address economic and social vulnerabilities, particularly poverty and deprivation, within The Gambia. It seeks to establish a Social Protection Agency to prevent, reduce, and alleviate these issues.
Similarly, the Nutrition Bill aims to establish the National Nutrition Agency and its Board of Directors. This agency will oversee nutrition security, including labeling, packaging, and fortification of food. Additionally, it will create the National Nutrition Fund to support these efforts.The National Social Protection Bill proposes the creation of an agency dedicated to coordinating social assistance activities and distributing social grants. It also defines the qualifications for receiving social assistance, ensuring that those in genuine need receive support.
“To improve the consistency and quality of social assistance services, the Bill includes provisions for the prescription of minimum norms and standards for their delivery. This ensures that all beneficiaries receive a consistent level of support,” the Bill reads
The Bill includes provisions for setting minimum norms and standards for delivering social assistance services, ensuring consistency and quality across all beneficiaries. Furthermore, it aims to fill gaps in The Gambia’s social protection legislative framework and align it with the NSPP 2015–2025 objectives.
The Nutrition Bill is aligned with The Gambia’s commitment to protect citizens’ rights outlined in the Constitution and international agreements related to food and nutrition security. It strengthens coordination of nutrition interventions by empowering the Agency to oversee these efforts.
Additionally, the Bill establishes a Board of Directors to manage the Agency’s affairs and grants it authority to inspect various institutions to ensure nutritional needs are met. This proactive approach aims to provide for the nutritional requirements of vulnerable groups across the country.