US$3million IDB boost for Gambia’s malaria crusade

By Frederic Tendeng
The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) has approved a loan amounting to US$ 3 million in support of the Gambia government’s efforts towards malaria control and prevention. The objective is to help achieve the Millennium Development Goals through significant reduction of malaria morbidity and mortality.
Dr. Abubaccar Gaye, Gambian minister of Health and Social Welfare, disclosed last Thursday that the loan will specifically go towards funding the Malaria Prevention and Control Project which seeks to focus on increasing the proportion of laboratory-confirmed malaria cases, increasing the proportion of malaria cases receiving appropriate management within 24 hours of the appearance of symptoms and increasing coverage for Long Lasting Insecticide-treated Nets (LLINs).
According to the minister, the project’s scope covers four health regions with a total population of 836,768, representing 57 per cent of the population of The Gambia. The four regions are the Central River, Western, North Bank East Region and the North Bank West Region.
“It is envisaged that the project will contribute to the consolidation of the current gains in malaria control and prevention and help The Gambia attain malaria pre-elimination stage by 2015”,  he concluded.