Award Presented To MOSHW

NEWS GAMBIA, BANJUL- The The Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI) has awarded the Expanded Programme on Immunization under the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare in The Gambia, for its consistent high immunization coverage over the past five years.

The award was yesterday presented to Sekou Omar Toure, the permanent secretary at the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare on behalf of the health minister by Dr Omar Sey, the deputy permanent secretary Technical at the same ministry, who went to receive the award in Vietnam (Hanoi), according to health officials that were present at the conference.

This award, health officials went on, was conferred to The Gambia during the last GAVI Partnes Forum meeting held in Vietnam, Hanoi. However, the award was in recognition of the giant strides registered by the Gambia government in ensuring quality health service delivery to the doorstep of all Gambians, with much emphasis on immunization coverage over the past years.

The Gambia is the second African country apart from Rwanda that has successfully introduced the pnumocongentical Vaccines quite recently in 2009.
The Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI) has awarded the Expanded Programme on Immunization under the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare in The Gambia, for its consistent high immunization coverage over the past five years.

Speaking at the presentation ceremony held at the Ministry of Health conference hall, Madam Ramou Cole-Ceesay, the assistant director, Family Health, at the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, said the EPI programmes in recent years evolve progressively for the betterment of Gambian people and even non-Gambians to the extent that most of the preventable childhood diseases that normally kill children are no longer a problem in the country as many of them have been put under control by virtue of these very good vaccines.

So we are also grateful to the scientists, our development partners and government in particular, that has prioritised the health of children and made sure that the resources are available to get vaccines all over the country at any given time for that matter, as she puts it, the country's progressive success in the area of immunization:

The Gambia has been designated by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as one of the best countries in Africa that has consistently maintained high vaccines coverage for more than five years around the continent. We are really second to none.
Permanent secretary at the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Mr. Seku Omar Touray, noted that there have been significant gains in The Gambia's Expanded Programmes on Immunization, adding that the life expectancy when compared to other countries in the sub-region is absolutely very significant.

Touray stated that despite challenges the country is still ranked high as earlier mentioned, considering EPI World Health Organisation report and UNICEF report among others. He however noted that there are still some challenges which will be addressed gradually in the near future.

PS Touray hailed the Health Ministry team that went to receive the award in Hanoi for their dedication.

In a power-point presentation on behalf of the EPI Team, Madam Yamundow Jallow, the programme manager, Expanded Programme on Immunization, said that the country adopted the Primary Health Care (PHC)and EPI in 1979. the polio eradication was launched in 1992, EPI integrated with maternal and child health services in 1982, in which, she said that the programme is to reduce childhood morbidity and mortality.