After months of taking medications, under the watchful eyes of President Alhaji Dr Yahya Jammeh, 23 former HIV/AIDS patients have been given a clean bill of health and accordingly discharged, at a colourful ceremony, witnessed by thousands of Gambians, on Thursday, at Kanilai Village, Foni Kansala, Western Region. They comprised third, fourth and fifth batches of patients.

The Gambian leader used the forum to announce new discoveries in his treatment programme. Out of the overall 120 patients, 63 were found to be undetectable with the virus, while 23 were said to have totally been cleansed of it. It means that the latter category were saying goodbye to the man that has given them a new lease of life.

The president reminded the crowd that during the last discharge ceremony, he had promised to announce new discoveries in the near future; he noted that his intention now was to treat the patients within a period of not more than two months; be they HIV I and HIV II patients.

He pointed to the drastic reduction of the viral loads of the patients, from millions of copies for some, to less than a million for others, as indicative of the effectiveness of the medication.

Lessons
Announcing the potential in curing patients in less than one month, the president disclosed that they had made some discoveries that were worrisome during the course of the latest treatment process. Among other discoveries were that blood grouping was a determinant factor in the rate of removal of the virus from the blood of an HIV patient.

President Jammeh pointed out that while patients belonging to blood groups O-ve and O+ve were found to be difficult to be cleansed of the virus, patients with A+ and A-, B+ and B-, as well as AB+ and AB–  need not worry if they have HIV II. According to the president, treatment of such groups of people would not even take one month now.

Reassurance
Dr Jammeh reassured the patients in the current batches, who still have higher degrees of viral loads, not to be worried, saying that by the end of this month, if they were not discharged, they would be discharged the following one “by the Grace of the Almighty Allah”.

“We want to make sure that there is nothing in your blood,” he stated.

New discoveries
The surprise of the day was the announcement of the discovery of a cure for an enlarged prostrate, which causes blockage of the urethral tract making the passage of urine difficult, a situation, the Gambian leader said was common among the aged, mostly the men folk.

According to President Jammeh, the beauty of this cure is that it has given two positive results: once drank, one passes urine freely, but it also heightens the performance of the sexual organ of the patient concerned.

He said the fact that the medicine was difficult to get meant that they would strictly use it to cure those with prostrate and not for enhancement of the sexual organ. But there is no reason to worry, as the president reminded the people that he had earlier made an announcement of the discovery of the cure for such cases, calling on potential patients to register with the Presidential Medical Team through Dr Tamsir Mbowe, the director general of the programme.

Warning against
recklessness
To the discharged HIV/AIDS patients, the president warned that being cleared of the virus does not mean that one is immune. “So you have to take care of yourselves,” he urged.
 
For now, he said, none of those who have been cleared of the have been re-infected. “So it is up to you to follow their example,” he cautioned.

Resource constraints
Limited resources and logistics remain a big obstacle to the treatment programme, said the president, and this prevents him and his medical team from taking on a larger number of patients. He is of the belief that they could treat up to a thousand people if it were not for the limited resources at their disposal, which makes it difficult to provide adequate feeding and other needs of the patients.

He said: “I wish I can treat 5,000 patients a month, but it is not possible, because the facility is not there to accommodate all of you; and secondly, it is very, very expensive”. The president called for support from philanthropists.

Infertility patients
For those who underwent the infertility treatment, President Jammeh assured them that “by the Grace of the Almighty Allah”, over hundreds of them would deliver in the course of the coming months and beyond.

“As a matter of fact, from here to December, we would be having deliveries,” added, but noted that the continuation of this increasingly popular treatment programme is on the balance. According to President Jammeh, the decision of its continuation rest entirely on Gambians. Apparently, a group of Gambians, out of genuine concern for his personal security, had led a delegation to the president’s mother, advising against his continuation of the programme.  
 
He disclosed that more than 2,500 people have registered for the infertility treatment. “Should I leave them in their misery, or should I believe in the Almighty Allah and treat them?” he asked, and then went on, “I want the Gambian people to decide”. The issue now rests on the outcome of a public opinion survey that would soon be sanctioned by the director generals of both GRTS and the Presidential Treatment Team on GRTS tv.
For President Jammeh though, only “what the majority of Gambians say would make the difference”.

The president praised the nurses for taking care of the patients and for their hard work.
Solidarity and praise
In announcing the results of the patients, Dr Tamsir Mbowe reminded the gathering that the president had joined the fight against the deadly ailment not to create a name for himself, but to salvage humanity from the burden of the scourge.

He assured the Gambian leader that his confidence in himself, among other enviable qualities, has earned him a place in the history of medicine.
Dr Mariatou Jallow, who chaired the ceremony, called for all to dedicate themselves to the fight against HIV/AIDS by encouraging the youths to go for voluntary testing and counselling.

Sohna Bah, one of the patients, said she had never thought this time would have met her alive, having had a life-long disturbing experience. That was a view shared by Nengunde Bah, another patient, who said that The Gambia is blessed to have someone like President Jammeh at its head. They both praised the Gambian leader for the gesture.

The occasion was characterised by drama performances by the Gambia Red Cross drama group, and a newly established group called The Breakthrough.
The Twin Sisters also staged a thrilling musical performance.