The Round 6 Proposal on Malaria Prevention and Control in The Gambia has won a US$20,813,258 grant from the Global Fund for HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis (TB) and Malaria, according to reports from the Department of State for Health and Social Welfare (DoSH&SW).

According to DoSH, the proposal was approved as category 2B for five years, commencing from January 2007 to December 2011.

Confirming this to the Daily Observer, Dr Tamsir Mbowe, Secretary of State for Health and Social Welfare, pointed out that the project seeks to address morbidity and mortality among children (five years and under) and pregnant women in five regions by 2011.

Health Secretary of State Mbowe said, “We want 80 per cent of patients to receive effective malaria case management within 24 hours; 80 per cent of pregnancies protected by Intermittent Prevention Treatment; 80 per cent of valuable groups using ITNs; and to strengthen service delivery capacity”.

He affirmed that his Department as the principle recipient, will ensure that the key intervention strategies and activities in the proposal are implemented to benefit the targeted beneficiaries to register the greatest impact. “The sub-recipients are the Catholic Relief Services, and partners responsible for insecticide treated nets distributed to pregnant women and children under the age of five years”, he elaborated.

SoS Mbowe expressed gratitude to President Yahya Jammeh for “creating the enabling environment and for his personal commitments to providing larvicides, removal of taxes and tariffs on insecticide treated material, procurement of two aircrafts and the institutionalisation of Operation Clean the Nation, as a means of environmental management to prevent diseases. These will go a long way towards creating a malaria-free Gambia”.

He disclosed that the fund would be utilised for the intended purpose and then expressed hope that the fight against malaria would continue to gain momentum in the country.