The government of The Gambia, President Adama Barrow has pledged to improve the living standards of Gambians as enshrined in the constitution.
Dr Isatou Touray who spoke at the occasion marking World Population Day, pledged that: “I wish to on behalf of The Gambia government acknowledge the contributions of all the United Nations agencies, the World Bank, European Union, African Development Bank, and other development partners for their continued support to population and development in The Gambia.”
“I would especially like to commend UNFPA for their continued support to the health and rights of women and girls in our beloved country. For The Gambia our homeland, under the able leadership of President Adama Barrow, we pledge our allegiance and renew our promise to improving the quality of life of all Gambians as enshrined in the National Population Policy and by extension, the National Development Plan,”
Meanwhile, she said government will continue to intensify focus and attention to safeguard the sexual and reproductive health and rights of women and girls to achieve the three transformative zeros by 2030, cognizant of its enabling factor towards National Development Goals.
“As we continue to fight against the pandemic, it is pleasing to note that 42,975 people have received the first doze of the AstraZeneca vaccine while 11,825 people have been fully vaccinated as of July 7, 2021. The Government remains committed to making Gambia a COVID-19 free country
“The government recognizes that access to Family Planning is not only a human rights, but it saves lives and promotes healthier populations, more efficient health systems and stronger economies. Consequently, the government is making significant progress in addressing Family Planning, as one of the fundamental pillars of safe motherhood and reproductive health rights,” she added.
“Evidence of achievements in this regard is reflected in the recent DHS report (2019-2020). Data from the DHS shows that the use of Family Planning has increased from 9% in 2013 to 19% in 2019-20. The demand for family planning among married women has increased from 34% in 2013 to 43% in 2019-2020. Unmet need for family planning has remained unchanged during this period.
“The Total Fertility Rate has fallen from 5.6 (DHS 2013) to 4.4 (DHS 2019-2020) with variations based on place of residence, LGA and level of education. Though gains have been made, there is the need to call for allocation of more resources and intensify the provision of Reproductive Health information and services to achieve our goal of Zero unmet need for family planning by 2030,” she added.