Impact Health The Gambia To Collaborate With Ministry Of Health-Says Babucarr Saine
Babucarr Saine, the administrator at the Kanifing General Hospital and country representative for Impact Health, the Gambia, has confirmed that the organization will effectively collaborate with the Ministry of Health to organize regular professional development courses for their Doctors, nurses and other paramedics, so that their knowledge will be relevant to the realities but also taking into account what the needs and priorities of the Gambians.
Impact Health, the Gambia (IHTG) is a newly NGO launched in the country with a tax-exempt status (50Ic3) in the United States of America.
The objectives of IHTG, he said includes the provision of basic medical supplies, providing quality improvement consultation services, offering seminars for mental health and addiction services.
Speaking at the recent launching ceremony of the IHTG held at the Senegambia Beach Hotel, Mr. Saine stated that most of the time most donors would bring medical equipment that would not work in the country. He regarded that as dumping and not donating.
He said that they have seen in the past that people would come with their own parallel programs and as time goes on, he revealed that they would not survive and this is what leads to failure and the projects would not be sustainable.
“What we have learned from those mistakes and said no, we are not going to create our own system, but we are going to support the Ministry of Heath, we work with them, identify the gaps and we work on that,” he noted. He revealed that the IHTG has so far provided essential equipment and supplies to the four hospitals.
“What we have seen is that philanthropists or donors as well call them, they will come and donate and sometimes most of the things they donate are not even useful.
Because the lists or the needs assessments was not done by the beneficiary institutions. Somebody sits somewhere and says ok, maybe this is good for the Gambia so let us send it to the Gambia,” he said.
He assured IHTG’s partnership with the Ministry of Health and the Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital, Bundung Maternal and Child hospital to see how best they could collectively work and strengthen these institutions to better deliver to Gambians.
He advanced that the IHTG has an approach, saying “our approach is that we ask the institutions what your needs are, send us the list and we send them to you.”
He confirmed that the objectives of IHTG to be very much in line with the objectives and the strategic vision of the Ministry of Health which is to make healthcare services affordable and accessible to every Gambian regardless of where one resides in the country.
Saine said the unique thing about IHTG is the fact that they are not in the country to create a parallel systemthat they are neitherto reinvent the wheel.
