Sabi Health Post Gets D2M Worth of Medical Supplies

In his quest to complement and support government’s aspiration in providing primary health care to every Gambian, particularly the   rural communities, one Ba Nyima Sillah, a native of Sabi, currently based in the United States of America, has donated a full container loaded with health materials to Sabi Health Post in the Upper River Region.

 The health post that is undergoing construction at the said village, if completed according to officials, is expected to serve the community of the URR settlement and its catchment areas a huge health relief. Some of the items donated according to officials are high in demand and rare especially at health centres in rural Gambia.

 At the presentation ceremony held at the hospital ground in Sabi, the governor of the region, Alh. Omar Sompo Ceesay, underscored the significance of the donated items and described the donor as true citizen of the country, who is committed to the development of the country’s health sector.
Ceesay expressed appreciation over the move taken by the Sabi native, noting that the natives of URR are responding to President Jammeh’s call for Gambians to participate in national development particularly in the health sector.

“Definitely I am so much happy, looking at the expensive donated health materials that are in the container”, Ceesay remarked.
He maintained that he is made to understand that the items are not for Sabi alone but also other communities even those outside The Gambia who will come to the village to have access to first class medicine.

Commenting on the significance of the donated materials to the communities, the URR governor   acknowledged that the materials will go a long way towards meeting the government’s development aspiration especially the MDGs set for the health sector, taking into account all the necessary materials needed in the health care delivery are among the items donated.

Ceesay used the forum to urge Gambians especially those living in the Diaspora to support and complement government’s efforts in meaningful development initiatives to consolidate the gains already registered in the country. As health related issues remain government’s top priorities, Ceesay affirmed that concerted effort is needed to support the government all the way as they cannot do it all.

“We have to join hands with the government and our brothers and sisters in The Gambia to ensure that government achieves it aims and objectives”, he stressed.
He thus called on the communities of Sabi and its catchments areas to make best use of the donated materials, as well as work closely with the regional health team with a view to ensure that the materials are protected.

The deputy regional health director for URR, Modou Lamin Fofana hailed the donor for his immense contribution to the promotion of health in the region and the country at large.

The gesture, he added, is a move in the right direction owing to the fact that health definitely belongs to everybody , that it is not an individual or  institution’s show. “Collective responsibility is needed to ensure that we take responsibility of our own health,” he added.

Fofana affirmed that the government of The Gambia is making tireless effort to ensure that the health aspects of the country are promoted and thus called for concerted effort by all Gambians towards the health sector.

He informed that among the donated materials are delivery beds, incubators.

Commenting further on the need for concerted efforts, Fofana remarked: “It is not the Europeans who will come and develop our country for us, we have to participate meaningfully to the development of our country. So wherever you are as a citizen of this country, you must remember that you have a role to play to national development especially in the health sector.”

The materials donated he believes, will go a long way in reducing maternal and mortality rate in the communities, especially with a huge catchment area covering almost 20 villages.

He revealed that after the completion of the health facility it will see almost 100 to 200 patients daily. He therefore urged the communities to work closely with health team in the area to ensure that they achieve their aims and objectives.

The chief of Fulladou District, Hammeh Minteh Krubally, while  commending the donor for his humanitarian gesture and for complementing government’s effort, affirmed that the importance of health towards national development cannot be overemphasised.

Sheriff Sillah, a representative of the alkalo, also hailed the donor for his tireless contribution towards the development of the village and the country at large.
Sillah acknowledged the move taken by the donor is not the first, saying  Ba Nyima Sillah has repeatedly supported the said health facility. He also recalled that the donor had earlier sponsored the construction of three buildings at the facility, borehole, mosque among a host of others.

by Momodou Jawo in Basse, URR/Observer