The First Lady Madam Zineb Yahya Jammeh has launched the Unicef State of the World’s Children Report 2008 on behalf of President Jammeh, at a ceremony held at the Sheraton Hotel in Brufut heights. The theme for this year’s launch is “Child Survival”.

Speaking at the ceremony, Madam Zineb Jammeh thanked Unicef and all stakeholders who participated in the technical review which preceeded the launch ceremony.

“On behalf of the Gambian leader, I am please to received this call to action of the plight of children in The Gambia. This call to action is a true objective towards the cause of children in The Gambia,” she said, adding that The Gambia Government is committed to this call in reducing child death by 2015.

She assured that The Gambia government will continue to create an enabling environment for children and commended the Unicef country team and partners for their collaboration towards attaining the goals.

For her part, Mrs Min Whee Kang, the Unicef representative in The Gambia, said nearly 10 million children die before their fifth birthday (half of these deaths occur in Africa) annually. However, she said the mortality rate for children under the age of five decreased by 15 per cent between the year 1990 and 2006 in Sub-saharan Africa, but she maintained that Sub-saharan Africa remains the most difficult place for a child to survive.

According to her, the new information in the State of the World’s Children 2008 is drawn from household survey data, as well as material from key partners, including the World Health Organisation and the World Bank.

In the Gambia, she said, they have seen good progress achieved in the reducing child deaths by a quarter over a period of almost two decades, saying that one area of progress is in child survival. She said this has been extended to ITNs (Insecticide Treated Nets), which has jumped from 14% in 2000 to 54% today, making The Gambia the leading country in the race towards the 2010 target to Abuja goal of 80% of children under age five sleeping under ITNs nationally. “In the area of access to water, the country also registered tremendous progress, with 85% of the population gaining access to improved drinking  water,” she added.

Mrs Kang urged all stakeholders to unite for child survival. “Child survival is not only a human rights imperative, it is also a development imperative. Investing in the health of children and their mothers, is a sound economic decision and one of the surest ways for a country to set its course towards a better future,” she told the gathering.

For his part, Dr Malick Njie, the secretary of state for Health and Social Welfare, said every year, Unicef prepares a comprehensive report detailing the plight of the children of the world.

“Children are our future, because if there are no children, there is no future. Out of the eight MDGs, the fourth largest is where the cycle known as human development begins”, he said.

SoS Njie said stressed that children should be protected against malnutrition, human trafficking and other forms of abuse. According to him, lack of access to good health contributes to the suffering of children.

Other speakers at the launch included the UN resident coordinators Chinwe Dike, Ndey Mbasin Jobe, a child activist, who presented a report on the ‘Call to Action’. Jeggan Grey-Johnson, communications officer of Unicef Gambia, chaired the ceremony.