In what has become something of a pleasant and curious surprise for many people, President Alhaji Yahya Jammeh has announced his decision to participate fully in the treatment of HIV/AIDS and Asthma in The Gambia.

According to news monitored on GRTS last night, President Jammeh was speaking at State House yesterday during a meeting with the management of the Royal Victoria Teaching Hospital (RVTH), Secretaries of States, the ambassadors of Cuba and Taiwan and a representative of Santa Yalla Society (a local group of people living with HIV/AIDS).

In his speech, President Jammeh disclosed that he has now got the full mandate, with strict conditions, to embark on the treatment of HIV/AIDS and Asthma. Commenting on the treatment of HIV/AIDS, President Jammeh pointed out that the patient must first be diagnosed as HIV positive and should agree to be treated in public.

He said the treatment would last only for few days after which the patient should go back to the hospital for further test to confirm their status.

The President also said he has been mandated to carry out treatment only on Thursdays and Fridays or Saturday.

He added that on Thursdays he would give treatment to only ten patients suffering from HIV/AIDS and on Fridays or Saturdays, he would give treatment to and should be limited to 10 patients at a time. He told the meeting that the first batch of 10 HIV patients will be treated today, Thursday, as the start of the program. Commenting on the treatment of Asthma, President Jammeh said he is mandated to treat up to 100 patients at a time under strict conditions.

In her speech the Vice President, Dr. Aja Isatou Njie Saidy, applauded the President for the initiative, describing the intervention as very timely.