The Association of Public and Environmental Health Officers of The Gambia (APEHOG) has grieved the death of a veteran Public Health officer Mr. Kawsu Bayo and journalists Pa Modou Faal and Musa Ndow, who died in a car crash along the Trans-Gambia highway in Soma, Lower River Region.
“Mr. Bayo until his demise has served the public Health Fraternity for decades in various capacities and was very well recognized as a senior member of the cadre. With decades of working experience, Mr. Bayo served in various regions in the country as a public Health Officer beginning at various health facilities as a young public health officer and later to various Regional Health Directorates across the country. He is also an alumnus of the WHO STOP program where he served with utmost meticulousness and commitment. Lately, he served at the Environmental Health Unit, under the Directorate of Public Health Services and most recently redeployed to the Primary Health Care Unit, all of the Ministry of Health,” Abdou Saho, Secretary General, APEHOG said in a statement.
It continued in his statement that “He was humble, friendly, truthful, trustworthy and a father figure to many young public health officers. He has stood by and defended the public Health Cadre and the Ministry of Health as whole in so many capacities and circumstances.”
“On their Part, Musa and Pa Modou (who at the Health Ministry we fondly call PM) were two great gentlemen that the Ministry in general and the Public Health Cadre in particular had the honour of working with. Before being deployed to the Ministry as Communications Officers, these two gentlemen have served the media fraternity in various capacities and were known to be part of the founders of various associations in the media and communications community,” he added.
“Until their demise, these gallant journalists worked with Directorate of Health Promotion and Education as media officers. They have been so instrumental for the Unit in particular and Ministry as a whole and were some of the unspoken heroes during the most trying times of the pandemic. Musa and Pa Modou where humble, welcoming and overall, well cultured human beings. It is of no doubt that their absence will create an enormous vacuum in the Ministry’s communication system.
“The entire membership of The Association of Public and Environmental Health Officers of The Gambia (APEHOG) are deeply saddened and shocked at the untimely dead of these three gentlemen. Their death is a great loss to the health and media communities of the country. They were heroes and will forever be celebrated. We pray that Allah SWT grant them Janatul Firdaws as we join their families and friends in mourning. Rest in Peace, Comrades,” he added.
