Her Excellency Aja Dr Isatou Njie-Saidy, the vice president and minister of Women?s Affairs, Friday received  the lead health and education specialist of the World Bank, Donald Bundy, at her office at State House in Banjul.

The World Bank top official was accompanied to State House by the minister of Health and Social Welfare, Dr Abubacarr Gaye and the permanent secretary Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education, Babucarr Bouye.

Speaking to journalists shortly after his meeting with the vice president, Bundy said his mission to State House was to brief the vice president about their plans to help The Gambia on a programme called School Health. He disclosed that the programme would engage both Ministries of Health and Social Welfare and Basic and Secondary Education and is meant to try and improve the health conditions of school children so that they can also take part in effective learning. According to him, the programme focuses mainly on school going children who are malnourished and sick.  ?The government of The Gambia has focused on this as an issue and progress has been made in the area so far,? he added.

The World Bank official said they also have a team from Sierra Leone and Liberia who are also part of the programme, and would also meet with the Education For All (EFA) in Ethiopia where they will hold discussions.

He further disclosed that the programme has already trained some trainers in the six regions of the country on health education and nutrition. ?These individuals will look at the problems of hygiene in each of the regions and they will focus on worming and de-worming sessions,? he stated. He said that each of the trainees will be working on to see where the schools need to benefit from, and that the programme will run up to March this year and would be launched nationally.