Source: The Daily Observer (Banjul)
A total number of 267 women that make up the 11th batch of the President's infertility treatment programme were Friday discharged by the Gambian leader, His Excellency Sheikh Professor Alhaji Dr Yahya Jammeh, after a weeklong treatment in Kanilai. The discharge ceremony was held at State House in Banjul.
The 11th Batch that comprising women from different parts of the country and beyond, was described as the best in terms of unity and camaraderie among them during their treatment. This, according to the President's Alternative Medical Treatment Programme (PAMTP) team, had made the treatment easy for them. The women, some of whom at the beginning of the treatment faced so many complicated issues, are now elated and hopefulafter having taken the concoction prepared and administered by the Gambian leader himself.
Addressing the patients prior to their discharge, President Jammeh expressed delight with the comportment of the women during their treatment. He pledged his support for the group, saying he will do everything within his reach to help ease their problem. "I am very happy and by the grace of the Almighty so many of you will bear children," President Jammeh assured the women.
He added: "Your group was excellent. May God reward you and answer our prayers. May you all do a naming ceremony." He also urged the women to take care of themselves and their health at all times as well as to continue to nurture the unity they have built among themselves.
The Gambian leader commended the group for being the first to come up with the idea of forming an association. The group had earlier decided to form an association and name it "11 Batch of Fertility Group".
President Jammeh also advised the groupto respect the leadership of their group. "Do not allow anything to divide you and you should also make sure that you limit the membership to only those of you in the group," he told the women. He continued: "If you choose somebody as your leader, then you should respect him/her and you should be mindful of that."
Speaking earlier, Dr. Tamsir Mbowe, director general of the PAMTP, described the 11th batch as one of the best groups because of their cooperation throughout the entire treatment process.
"This has made it possible to do the treatment as planned. His Excellency has been following the one-week treatment programme. It was a very hectic one though, because of the timing, and like I always say, this kind of treatment is not an easy treatment programme. The money involved is too much and also the time factor, as you may know His Excellency, being the president is not only involved in the management of the patients but he has also other official duties and for the past one week he was very busy with the patients.
"Based on my experience as a medical doctor, I am hoping that we might achieve 99.9% because nothing is 100% in life but seeing the way the management was done and the type of medication given and the attitude of the patients, really made me very impressive and I know in this batch we are hoping for 99.9% management," he said, while underlining the complexity of infertility treatment. "It is one of the most complex programmes, as you could see there are so many procedures involved," he added.
Kura Njie, the president of the newly formed association and a resident of New Jeshwang, said they thought it imperative to form an association to render their services to a man who has given them the hope of bearing children. She added that the only way they could support the man who restored their hope of bearing children is by assisting him in all his activities. She also thanked Dr Mbowe and his team for their care and understanding throughout the treatment process.
Ramatulie Sanneh, one of the patients from Bakau, dedicated a poem to President Jammeh, whom they [women] described as the champion of peace in the African continent. The poem highlighted the developments registered by the Jammeh administration since the July 22nd Revolution in 1994.