The women selected from the villages of Mamadi Ceesay, Demba Wandu, Sare Ngai, Sare Kalli, Nawde and Diabugu in the said district gathered to increase their awareness of tuberculoses, HIV/AIDS, malaria and other health-related issues.

Speaking at the occasion, the Leprosy TB Inspector at Daibugu Health Center, Essa Touray underscored the importance of the training, saying it will go a long way in complementing their efforts in the fight against tuberculosis in the beneficiary communities. He added that it will alsoincrease the understanding of the participants towards the prevention of the above mentioned diseases.

He lamented that tuberculosis is becoming rampant in Sandu District, indicating that the number of TB cases received by them in 2012 has shown a dramatic increase.

Touray went on to urge the communities in the area to change their attitude towards their health issues, stressing that the aim of the government is to ensure that the country remains the healthiest nation in Africa, and the world at large. He also stressed that the government alone cannot do it all, thus needs the support of everyone including associations to help in haltingthese diseases.

For his part, Sainey Kanuteh, a laboratory assistant at the Basse MRC Unit, who doubles as the regional coordinator for Stop TB and HIV/AIDS in URR harped on the importance of health to the nation.

He commended the government of The Gambia for its efforts in the fight against TB and other health-related issues. He informed that a lot of people were dying as a result of TB in the country, but noted that with the coming of free treatment of the disease, things have minimised.

He underscored that for the nation to achieve its development aspiration, high concentration must be given to the health sector in view of the fact that development cannot take place in the absence of a healthy population.

Kanuteh indicated that the ultimate aim of his organisation is to complement the efforts of the government in its strive to attain Vision 2020 development goals, MDGs 4 and 5, which he said are health sector goals.

He told the gathering that since the establishment of his organisation, it has achieved tremendous achievements in the area of advocacy and capacity building training, amongst others. He then urged the beneficiaries to work hand-in-glove with the committee health nurses in spreading the information to other communities that did not partake in the training.

“Supporting the health sector of the country means participating in the development process of the country, as health is paramount in our development aspirations,” he added.