The Catholic Relief Services (CRS) recently held a sensitisation forum for the National Assembly Members (NAMs) on malaria at the Tendaba Camp in Lower River Region (LRR).

The sensitisation forum which was funded by Global Fund, was aimed at reducing malaria related morbidity and mortality in the entire population to reach prelimnation stage by 2015. Speaking at the sensitisation forum, Hon. Elizabeth FY Renner, speaker of the National Assembly, revealed that malaria is a disease that members of CRS are trying to combat. According to her, malaria is a serious disease that kills lot of people every year and is a very serious challenge to the achievements of MDG 4 and MDG 5.

Speaker Renner disclosed that, on the 25th April, 2000, head of states from 44 countries held a summit in Nigeria and passed the famous Abuja Declaration against malaria committing all head of states to put in policies and strategies to eradicate malaria by the year 2015 and to have a mid-term review every five years.

Ebrima Jarju, head of CRS Country Programme in The Gambia, said that the forum was to sensitise the National Assembly Members about their plan to distribute 700,000 insecticide mosquito treated nets across the whole country. According to him, their objective is to provide a bed net to every Gambian.

Baba Balajo of Catholic Relief Services noted that, they work in partnership with the government, civil society, the private sector and affected communities by combining resources towards fighting HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria through grant programmes.