President Alhaji Dr Yahya Jammeh has appointed the former secretary of state for Health and Social Welfare, as the director general (DG) of his HIV/AIDS, asthma, diabetes and other treatment programme, according to reports reaching the Daily Observer.

Dr Tamsir Mbowe, a well-grounded medical practitioner, will be responsible for the day-to-day management and clinical administration of the programme. “This covers patient registration, treatment, and discharge”.

Dr Mbowe, who has a legacy of familiarity with the president’s treatment programmes, is widely admired by many people for his track record of bringing improvement to the health service delivery system of the country during his tenure as SOS, which culminated in the ranking of The Gambia as having one of the best primary health care systems in the region.

During his term as secretary of state, Dr Mbowe also injected reliability and consistency in the delivery of supplies to various public health facilities in the country.

He is credited for his stern commitment to ensuring public health safety. This was evident in the numerous raids on street vendors, whose trade threatened public health, as well as those supermarket operators suspected of selling expired food stuff in the country.

His term as SOS also saw significant improvements in the health indicators of the country, boosting of staff morale, among many other achievements.