Source: The Daily Observer
The 'Operation Save A Baby' initiative of the First Lady of the Republic, Her Excellency Zineb Yahya Jammeh has received cash donations from various institutions and staff of the Ministry of Trade, Integration and Employment, amounting to D53, 475. The monies were received Tuesday by the vice president and Women's Affairs minister, Her Excellency Aja Dr. Isatou Njie-Saidy, on behalf of the beneficiary during ceremonies held at State House.
The donations were meant to respond to the staggering D10, 000, 000 fundraising drive, launched earlier this year by the initiative, to strengthen all maternity wards in all the hospitals across the country.
The donors were MFG Group, which contributed D24, 753; an anonymous hotel, D10, 000, CSC D15,000; Bayba Financial Services, D3000; and staff of the Ministry of Trade, Integration and Employment, which injected D725.
Receiving the cheques, the vice president thanked the benefactors for contributing to a worthy cause, saying the baby saved could be anyone's. She called on every Gambian to respond to this call. "Health is wealth, and that's the president's motto. This is why since 1994; the president has given a lot of prominence to health. He started with education, health, agriculture, infrastructural development and the rest of the sectors will follow suit. It doesn't mean that the other sectors are not critical, but without a healthy human capital, forget development and that's why he also emphasise health in his Vision 2020 development blueprint," the veep pointed out.
VP Njie-Said applauded the Operation Save A Baby Committee for their efforts, crediting them for making the donations possible. She described Committee as a very dynamic one which leaves no stone unturned in assisting the initiative realise its dream. Njie-Saidy highlighted the various interventions of the initiative in health facilities across the country. She lauded the initiative's bold efforts in rendering support to the first new babies of every year.
Speaking further, the veep highlighted the multi-function capacity of the Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital (EFSTH), a tertiary health facility, she said, has been rendering lots of services such as teaching doctors at the University of The Gambia's Medical School as well as assisting in dealing with referral cases. "They are all referred to the EFSTH and that calls for resources. The government is doing what it can and His Excellency the president has been able to provide well qualified doctors," she said.
That, according to the VP, is to enhance the capacity of the EFSTH so that it would be a vibrant teaching hospital that will be reckoned with in the sub-region and beyond. She stressed that the government alone cannot do it all, hence calling on stakeholders to come onboard and take ownership of the initiatives including that of the First Lady. "I am really grateful today that we are able to get an assistance from partners including a hotel that has generously donated D10, 000 but doesn't want to be named," she concluded.
The chief medical officer of EFSTH, Dr. Mhd Ammar Al-Jafari, also extolled the initiative, noting that it has brought a lot of benefits to the health sector. He used the opportunity to applaud donors for the gesture.
The chief internal auditor of MFH Group, Wilfred Davis, expressed delight in supporting the initiative, and assured his institution's readiness to support any cause championed by the 'Operation Save A Baby'.
The chairman of the 'Operation Save A Baby' Committee, Tombong Saidy, also thanked the donors for responding to their call, affirming that the amount is part of the D10, 000, 000.
