Editorial


We wish to commend the government and people of Taiwan for once again extending their benevolent hand to The Gambia. Their recent disbursement of some US$300 000 to our health sector indeed came at an opportune time; a time that the country is galvanizing efforts to meet the targets of the national development blueprint and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The move is undoubtedly another demonstration of Taiwan's genuine cooperation and support to The Gambia in national development.

We know that the multiplier effect of this genuine gesture cannot be overemphasised, as an enhanced health sector would guarantee a healthy populace that plays a significant role in the country's development. In fact, the health status of the people of any given nation is in itself an indicator of growth and progress since it can be a parameter to gauge the participation of their development process. Also, such a donation from Taiwan at this time of the year when deadly diseases like malaria are rampant shows how much they are willing to stand by The Gambia.

Taiwan is a true friend of this country; this is not just about the treasured financial we continue to receive from the people of Taiwan, it is also about Taiwan's commendable sense of respect, and understanding of mutual relationships, among other conventionally respectable societal values.  The Taiwanese have been involved in many of The Gambia's development programmes, and have always done so with the intention of ensuring that we don't need to be dependent on others in future. This explains their commendable role in capacitating the human resource base of The Gambia by awarding scholarships to Gambian students to go and study in Taiwan.

We also wish to seize this opportunity to tell the Taiwanese that Gambians greatly appreciate their gesture, and we assure them of our continued and unbending support and cooperation in their struggles at all levels. The Gambia will continue to stand by them on any platform to demand their deserved autonomy, greater world recognition and inclusion in world bodies like the United Nations.There is no doubt that Taiwan’s name will forever remain in our history books as a genuine contributor in the development of modern Gambia.We once again commend the people of Taiwan for their support.