Following the engenderment with project teams, The Vice President, H.E Mohammed B.S Jallow embarked on site visits to Essau District Hospital Maternal and Child Health Essau Unit. The Officer in Charge, Mr Bakary Sanneh, took the VP on a conducted tour of the Hospital.
Mr Sanyang underscored numerous achievements registered by the Government in the area of Maternal and Child health in the pass year. He alluded that government and partners have heavily invested in health systems, strengthening human resources for hard to reach communities.
He mentioned that with Support from United Nations Fund for Population (UNFPA) 9th CPD 2024, which is aligned to the NDP 2023, has contributed to the reduction of Child Mortality by supporting health units of hospitals as well as providing lifesaving drugs, medical equipment, training of nurses and provision of contraceptive commodities. He also highlighted some of the constraints faced by the hospital and solicits the swift intervention of the Government.
The Vice President also visited the Mother Unit Upper Arm Circumference (MUAC) in Samba Kalla, a National Nutrition Agency programme supported by UNICEF which trained community members on practices that ensures early detection of malnutrition amongst children in the community. The programme also helps in identifying children who are at risk of malnutrition and monitor nutritional status of children.
The Village Development Committee representative, Mr Adama Sillah, thanked the VP for the visit and also solicits support for the Government for a garden which will be able to provide fresh vegetables for the community. Trained members used the opportunity to demonstrate to the VP some of the key take ways of the prorgramme and demonstrated how nutritional status of children can be monitored for early intervention.
Next stop, the VP visited the construction of the regional FSQA office in kerewan to ensure safety food for consumption in the region. In kuntaur General hospital, the Regional Director Modou Lamin Fofana took the delegation on a conducted tour of the facility, highlighting intervention areas for proper health care delivery in the region.
For his part, the Vice President Jallow assures that government will intervene with the support of development partners to pave a way forward for appropriate implementation of the projects. He concluded by thanking Sector teams for coming out in numbers to make the visit a successful one.
